Echo's Challenge
by Echos in my head
Summary: In which you ask me to write something. Taking requests.
1. Chapter 1

Echo's Challenge

I'll keep this as brief as I can... I need a challenge. Don't get me wrong, JASA is pretty challenging to write, but looking at all these other archives with "Submit your Ocs!" or "Theme Challenge!" and "-insert something here- Contest!", and it got my mind going...

What if people made story-writing contests, and people submitted via PM? It could be anything, a one-shot concerning the quality of the food in Kelp, for instance, or even a request for total crack. Really, it's motivation, and it gets the creativity going.

I would make a contest myself, but I have a horrible case of indecisiveness, and I would probably give everyone first place, after not updating for three months. So, here is my challenge to you, Neopets fanfiction-goers:

If you can, make up a contest. Create a theme, set a deadline, expect greatness in reply. Pick the winners, and submit their stories (giving them credit, of course) as chapters after the contest page. If you're an entrant, then you might like your story so much that you post it as your own personal one-shot (giving credit to the person who had the original idea). Neopets is a very slow-moving board, and this might just enrich our archive a little more.

So, before you wonder what the fuck is going on with Echo because she hasn't said anything borderline insane yet, I'm writing serious because I am serious.

...Huh, reading that over, it kinda seems like I'm forcing people to do this. Well, it's a challenge, let's leave it at that. I hope you take this idea into consideration.

And since this won't be counted as a story unless something actually happens, here's something I'm making up on the spot...

* * *

><p>"What's the result so far?" Will asked, sounding bored.<p>

"HATIC has all the votes," Armin answered, looking at the results of my latest poll, concerning which plot to parody next.

I grinned. "That's gonna be so confusing," I said. It was true. Following the story of Hannah and the Ice Caves would be strange, seeing as Armin worked for me. But I would figure something out. I always did.

Okay, almost always.

Will, out of pure boredom, pressed the giant red button that said "DO NOT PRESS!"

Nothing happened. But I'm 75% sure something exploded in another dimension.


	2. Nevermind

Nevermind

Hey everyone. Well, I published this two months ago, but no one has taken my challenge. Yet. Some of you have said you would, but that has yet to happen. So I've decided that Echo's Challenge is no longer me challenging you, but you challenging me. That's right.

So, please be aware of the fact that I'm still writing JASA, and writing a few works that I'll add later on in my lifetime, like my HATIC parody, so if you request that I write something, I will most likely not get to it right away. No, this is more like something for me to do when I feel like I can't write anything.

So, in case you didn't understand: you tell me what Neopets-related story you want me to write. You can be specific as hell, or really vague and leave me to see what I come up with. But if you have an idea, by all means give me something to work on.

You may notice that I specialize in humour (looking at all my Neopets-related stories), but I can also try to write serious, like adventure or tragedy. Maybe mystery or horror, but I'd probably be crap at those. And if you ask for romance, I will probably ignore that request. Just saying. And I can write in script format or story.

If you need an idea, why not think of two people who don't interact much in Neopets (if at all). Like... Hanso and Garin. Do they know each other? Do they like or hate each other? Where would they meet? And there are plenty of ideas that you all probably have, and if I find myself with a little extra time on my hands, I might just type up a little story giving credit to the creator of said idea.

And now for crack.

* * *

><p>Jazan just wanted a glass of water, but nooooo. His RAGS got in the way, as they always did.<p>

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, RAGS is Randomly Air Guitaring Syndrome, and it is exactly what it sounds like.

Jazan needed to concentrate. Nothing would break his focus. He was in the zen, or whatever that phrase was, but he didn't dwell on it because that's how concentrated he was. He reached out, and picked up a glass. _So far so good..._ He went over to the refrigerator and opened it, getting out a water bottle. _Almost done... _He opened the water bottle and tipped it into the glass. The water made a nice sound as it filled the glass. Now all he needed to do was drink it.

However, as Jazan picked up his glass, Shadow and Fire opened the door, chattering loudly. This made Jazan lose his focus and, you guessed it, he dropped his glass and started air guitaring. Again.

Realising what had just happened, Jazan started swearing at the top of his lungs, saying every offensive word in the English language that he knew. Shadow and Fire just stared. They looked from the swearing Kyrii with his arms swinging everywhere to the broken glass on the floor and back again.

After a while, Fire asked, "Why did you take out a glass when you could have just drank from the water bottle?"

Jazan was so stunned by this sudden realisation that he stopped air guitaring for a second.


	3. Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey

_Rating: K+_

_Dedicated to Lucy._

_Challenge: Non-swearing, non-mature backstory to Hanso and Brynn explaining why they made some decisions in their life (becoming a thief, joining the guards, trust...)_

_Warning: It's long._

Hanso was bored. The eight year old Ixi jumped on his bed a few times before collapsing with a sigh.

He hated being grounded. And all this was because he decided to "borrow" some of his teacher's money. He would have paid her back eventually, he said so after he got caught, but that didn't seem to matter to his teacher. Apparently, the same went for his principal and parents. None of them were too happy about it.

So now he was stuck in his room for the rest of the week, not being able to go outside and play with his friends like he wanted to. And all this because a few neopoints had been left on his teacher's desk.

* * *

><p>Brynn was crying, crying because she couldn't stand all the crime going on. The eight year old Kougra was still sensitive, though a little stronger than she had been a few years before.<p>

But she still hated the idea of injustice. It was in every story she read, in every history lesson regarding war that she heard. Sometimes she wished Brightvale's school systems weren't as advanced as they were, because then she might have learned about what happened at the Ice Caves when she was a little less... fragile. She knew that she was getting better at controlling her emotions, but she still had a way to go.

So for now, she cried. Cried because of Galem's greed and Masila's betrayal. Why couldn't everyone just get along?

* * *

><p>A ten year old Hanso was walking around Neopia Central, looking for his friends. This is ultimately what happened when you were playing Tag, and you were ten times as fast as everyone else: you got lost.<p>

"Guys?" he called out. "Come on guys, where are you?" If truth be told, he had no idea where he was, either. This was a part of Neopia Central that he hadn't explored yet, but Hanso was confident in his sense of direction. He knew that he could find his way back home.

But it had been a while since he had gotten lost. He tried asking for directions, but the passerby just ignored the small Ixi like he wasn't worth their time. One lady in particular snapped at him for being in her way. She was a Shoyru, dressed richly and with a haughty air about her. As she walked away, Hanso noticed her purse. A small bag, filled to the brim with some objects that clinked and jingled as she walked. Money...

Suddenly, Hanso felt that familiar urge that he had been getting more and more lately. That little feeling that that bag was just waiting there for him. Hanso had no need for the money, but even so, just the idea of having it instead of that mean lady made Hanso want it. It seemed that almost everywhere he looked, items he could obtain were everywhere, calling out to him, but not with a voice. No, it was more like if it shone in the sun like gold, or if it gave off an incredible aroma, or even if it was a small toy or trinket that he had wanted for a little while, just the possibility of getting it for free appealed immensely to the young Ixi.

Before he knew it, he was following her quietly, keeping a few steps behind her and pretending to look like he was still lost to fool the other people around him. The lady stopped beside a tree, holding out a hand to balance herself while she took off her shoe and shook a stone out of it. Now was his chance!

As she was putting her shoe back on, Hanso darted from where he was, and as he passed by her, he reached out and grabbed her bag, running away as fast as he could.

He could hear her shrieking behind him, but he didn't look back. He kept his eyes forward, breathing deeply and focusing his adrenaline on running. The bag was a little heavier than he had expected. That made him grin a little as he ran, as this little heist had obviously been more beneficial than he had thought.

All of a sudden, Hanso heard footsteps approaching him from behind, so he allowed himself to glance once over his shoulder. What he saw made him double his pace.

He was being chased by the Neopia Central Police. He hadn't expected that. He knew that every land in Neopia had their own version of police or guards, and there was even the Defenders of Neopia, but why would the Neopian police be chasing him? Were there really no other crimes here? The idea struck him as silly.

Quick as a flash, Hanso dodged people, scooted around trees and jumped over the occasional ditch. He had always been quick and agile, but the police were bigger and stronger than he was. Presently, Hanso was beginning to run out of energy. His breathing was coming in gasps, his head was pounding and his legs were aching, but he didn't stop running. He couldn't get caught, he just couldn't! But the police were catching up...

An arm reached out and grabbed him. Hanso stumbled and let out a quiet yelp before another hand clasped over his mouth. "Shhh!" he heard a voice warn him. He felt himself get tugged into the darkness of the woods that surrounded Neopia Central, and through the cover of the trees he saw the members of the police that were chasing him continue off through the city.

The hand over his mouth let go, and the other turned him around. Hanso found himself in the presence of three others: the one who had caught him was a large blue Gelert with a scar over one side of his face who was wearing a purple cloak with the hood pulled down over his head. Next to him on his right was a spotted Lupe with short black hair who was wearing a black cloak similar to the Gelert's over a navy blue shirt and tan pants. Next to him was a younger camouflage Kougra with short brown hair wearing a faded off-white dress with the sleeves ripped off and a red vest. They all looked at him, the older two with curiosity, the girl with distrust.

"Who are you?" Hanso asked, trying to hide the sound of his voice cracking in fear and failing.

The Lupe and Gelert exchanged glances while the Kougra continued glaring at him suspiciously. Finally, the Gelert nodded to the Lupe who turned to Hanso and said "We saw your little escapade back there with that Shoyru."

Hanso gulped. Maybe he should have gotten caught by the police. At least he knew what to expect from them, whereas he had no idea what these people would do to him.

The Gelert snatched the bag from Hanso's hand and weighed it in his hand. Hanso fought back the urge to steal it back; These people looked like they could be hiding weapons on them. The Gelert opened the bag and tipped it onto the ground, showering the forest floor with golden pieces. All four of them widened their eyes, they hadn't expected that much to be in that little bag. The Lupe whistled while the Gelert muttered "Impressive."

Hanso was still borderline terrified. Who were these people? Did they want the money? Suddenly, the idea of money didn't appeal to Hanso much anymore. His life seemed better. While the three others were preoccupied by the neopoints on the ground, Hanso prepared himself for another run.

He turned as fast as he could and started to sprint away, but he hadn't even gotten more than a few meters away before he felt himself fall to the ground. Someone had tripped him, and now they were pulling him back up. It was the Kougra, who was still eying him distrustfully and was now dragging him back over to the two others.

"Good job, Niki," the Lupe praised her as she shoved him back in front of the two older men. The Gelert was looking at Hanso thoughtfully.

"That was poorly timed," he told Hanso, who was still wheezing from getting knocked to the ground. "You must have noticed that Niki was still observing you. Gold can only distract for so long." The Gelert nodded at the Kougra, Niki, who showed a ghost of a smile on her face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. The Gelert continued. "I must say that you are one of the faster amateur thieves that I've met."

Hanso's head snapped up and he gasped in a breath before exclaiming, "I'm not a thief!"

The Lupe looked at Hanso strangely. "You must be joking," he said, motioning to the pile of coins clustered at their feet. "Unless these all stole themselves?"

"Be quiet, Coby," the Gelert silenced the Lupe. Then he addressed Hanso again. "My accomplice does have a point, you did steal those neopoints. You were light on your feet, which is an important quality for a thief to have." Hanso didn't know what to say to the Gelert's praise. "But of course you aren't a real thief," he continued. "You don't seem to know your way around these parts, there were many other places to run to and hide, but instead you kept yourself visible. And unless what you're wearing is a disguise..." The Gelert smirked, looking at Hanso's clothing, "I don't think a student would consider a thieving lifestyle."

Hanso felt a little ashamed. He had, in fact, thought of becoming a thief a few times, just because he'd never been able to control his impulse to take something. But he didn't feel comfortable saying this to the three people in front of him.

"Kanrik, we should leave soon" the Lupe, Coby, warned the Gelert. Kanrik waved one hand, letting Coby know he had heard him, but didn't shift his gaze from Hanso.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked him.

"Hanso." It came out a little more than a whisper.

"Well Hanso," Kanrik continued, "If you ever plan to become a thief, you might want to work on a little self-confidence." Hanso felt embarrassed. He wasn't normally this quiet around other people. Then again, other people didn't tend to be talking him into a thieving lifestyle. "Also, you might hear rumours about a certain Thieves Guild. Ask the right questions, and you might just be able to find us." Kanrik bent over and collected the money from the ground, put it back in the bag and handed it back to Hanso. "Keep trying, kid," Kanrik said, before all three of the thieves turned and disappeared into the trees, leaving a shocked and scared Hanso holding a bag of money.

Heading home, he thought again and again of his encounter with the three of them. He thought about it so much that he didn't notice at first when he had arrived at his doorstep. Hiding the money quickly and feigning a bored, casual expression, he went back inside.

* * *

><p>Ten year old Brynn wasn't weak anymore. Now she was tougher, and she was proud of it. She didn't cry, she didn't depend on others anymore. She could take care of herself, and that made her feel the best she had in ages. Where this change came from, she wasn't sure, but she was grateful for it.<p>

But she still hated the idea of crime and injustice.

That's why she always read any Neopian Times article about the Defenders, to see evildoers be put in their place. After a while, it became Brynn's aspiration to become a Defender and save the innocent victims from the people that were causing them harm. It was a very black-and-white view on life, but it was what Brynn believed in. Justice was choosing right over wrong, and those who believed otherwise deserved the time they got in jail.

Soon, the idea of bringing justice to the world became an obsession. Brynn spent almost every waking moment thinking of the good she could bring to the world if given the opportunity. She wanted so desperately to stop crime that her parents and friends started to worry.

"Brynn?" Her best friend, a Kacheek named Mata asked timidly.

Brynn was sketching her ideal Defender uniform in her book. She closed it quickly with a snap. "What?"

Mata gave her a pamphlet. "I saw this, and I thought it might be fun to join."

The pamphlet was a recruitment idea for the Brightvale guards. As it turned out, many young children joined the guards, and not just teenagers and adults as Brynn had assumed.

"So," Mata asked. "What do you think? They have training, and you get to go on patrols and stop street-thieves."

As far as Brynn was concerned, Mata may as well had just handed her the future she had always dreamed of. "How much does it cost?" she asked excitedly.

"It's just the uniform and sword, when you get them, but the training isn't very expensive, and if you really become a guard, they'll pay _you_."

Brynn smiled at her friend. "And you want to join too?" Having a friend by her side while she pursued her dreams would be the icing on the cake.

Mata nodded and pointed at the pamphlet again. "You need parental permission to sign up-"

"That won't be a problem," Brynn said. She was sure that her parents would let her join, because they knew how much it meant to her.

They continued chatting about the possibility of becoming guards as they gathered their belongings and headed home. As they walked, they saw the occasional guard standing by and surveying the area. Brynn found herself imagining what it would be like to be in uniform and armour, being given a place to stand and watch over the people of Brightvale. Knowing that the possibility of her dream coming true made Brynn's pace quicker as she went home.

As they passed the main plaza, Brynn was passed by two people: one was a small, dirt-streaked red Xweetok carrying a loaf of bread, and the other an electric-coloured Cybunny in a Brightvale guard uniform. The two friends watched as the Cybunny caught up to the Xweetok and pinned him to a wall, taking back the bread and cuffing him. Brynn watched with awe, whereas Mata looked disturbed.

As the Cybunny passed them, she sent a smile their way, while the thief sent an imploring look.

"How cool was that?" Brynn asked later, still hyped up after what she had just witnessed.

"I don't know," Mata said uncertainly. "Did you see that thief? He had to have been about seven years old, and he looked hungry."

"Stealing isn't the right way to feed yourself," Brynn said firmly. "Now he can be fed in the dungeons."

Mata sighed. "I guess you're right." Mata didn't talk much for the rest of the walk home, but she didn't need to, as Brynn was busy reliving the moment of capture and how she was excited to be a part of it.

When she got home, Brynn immediately ran the idea of being a guard by her parents. They were hesitant at first, but they eventually gave in to Brynn's pleas.

Feeling as if she was walking on air, Brynn returned to her room. Once there, she took out her book that she had been drawing in earlier, tore out the page showing her in her Defender uniform and instead began sketching herself in a Brightvale guard outfit.

Her dream was quickly becoming a reality.

* * *

><p>Once he had turned eleven, Hanso made his decision. His parents didn't care for him, and his school life was quickly becoming unbearable. He would join the Thieves Guild.<p>

Packing a few clothes, some food and money in a small backpack, Hanso paused to look in the mirror. His navy blue hair was growing again, and was around his shoulders in a feminine style. Grimacing, he grabbed a rubber band from his desk and tied it back. For some reason, it worked well and didn't look as girly as he thought it would.

He pulled on his favorite jacket, a slate grey one, and he decided he looked more like a thief than ever before. Giving a grin to his reflection, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and climbed out his window.

Finding the Thieves Guild was no easy task. Hanso found himself directed and re-directed all over the map. It was tiring, but Hanso was able to travel the world, and he saw everything through new eyes. He spent his time wisely, perfecting his stealing skills as he looked for the Thieves Guild. If he was to join, he had better make a good impression.

Several months later, Hanso found himself in Brightvale, the land of books and stained glass. It was a grand place, with busy people running about in a hurry, not paying attention to their belongings. _This must be the place, _Hanso figured. _It's a thief's paradise._

Even as he thought this, he saw an Acara running away from a guard. Thinking quickly, he ran into the guard, knocking him over. Hanso then followed the Acara to safety, where he asked about the Thieves Guild.

She glared at him. "Why do you want to know about the Thieves Guild?" she demanded.

"I met a few members a while back," Hanso replied truthfully. "They were um..." He racked his brain trying to remember. "There were three of them. One of them was named Niki, and the Lupe had a name beginning with a 'C' or 'K', and there was a blue Gelert with a scar-"

The Acara's eyes widened. "Kanrik?"

Hanso grinned. "That's right, Kanrik. Do you know him?"

The Acara stared at him as if he was an idiot. "Kid, Kanrik is the _leader_ of the Thieves Guild."

Hanso was shocked. The leader of the Thieves Guild told him himself that he saw potential in him. "I need to find him!" he said urgently.

The Acara looked uncertain, but then reached a decision. "Fine, kid, I'll take you to him, but if this is a trick to find our lair, we will hunt you down. Trust me." And the Acara walked off.

Through the woods behind Brightvale there was a small path leading to a clearing. In the midst of this clearing was a stone building. The Acara led him inside, going through stone corridors and passing by other thieves that looked down upon him with interest. They reached a door located in the middle of the building, far from the outside walls and well protected.

"He's in there," the Acara said before knocking on the door. "Kanrik? Some kid says he knows you."

The door opened to reveal Kanrik, the same large blue Gelert as Hanso remembered. "Who is he?" he demanded.

Hanso got a little scared. Had Kanrik already forgotten him? "I'm Hanso. Remember? In Neopia Central, you caught me stealing-"

"Prove it." Kanrik showed some recognition, but still seemed suspicious. Hanso reached into his backpack and took out a small bag. Opening it, he turned it upside down and showered the floor in gold, an exact re-creation of what Kanrik had done when they had met. It was the same bag with the same money and the same gesture.

The Acara let out a cry of surprise and bent down to the money.

"Stop," Kanrik ordered and the Acara froze. "Let me talk to Hanso alone."

The Acara left, occasionally looking over her shoulder at the money. Hanso scooped it all back into the bag and looked at Kanrik.

"Come in," the Gelert told him. Hanso obliged, going into a darkly-lit room with a few small chairs and a table. Karnik sat down on one of them and motioned for Hanso to follow suit.

"So," Kanrik said as Hanso sat down, "You finally decided to join."

Hanso nodded, swinging his legs back and forth nervously.

Kanrik reached over to the table and picked up an intercom. Pressing a button, he said, "Please have Coby and Niki see me in my office."

It seemed that only a few seconds had passed before there was a knock at the door. In came the Lupe and Kougra from that night. Coby looked confused whereas Niki looked suspicious yet again. They too sat down at Kanrik's request.

"How old is Niki now?" was the first question that Kanrik asked.

"She's seventeen," Coby answered. "Almost eighteen."

Karink looked at Niki for confirmation. She nodded in reply.

"So, she'll be needing an apprentice soon..." Kanrik mused. Hanso let in a breath. Did he mean what he thought he meant?

"I suppose," Coby said.

Kanrik looked at all three of them before asking, "Coby, could I entrust you with Hanso's thief training along with Niki's?"

None of them were expecting that. Coby looked curiously at Hanso. "I-I'm certain I can manage it," Coby replied.

As Kanrik and Coby continued discussing Hanso's training, Hanso noticed Niki clenching her fists. This little detail didn't go unnoticed by Kanrik.

"Don't think I haven't forgotten about you, Niki," he told her. "As soon as you turn eighteen, Hanso shall be your apprentice."

Niki nodded slowly. "Thank you," she said quietly, scarcely above a whisper. Her voice was soft, in contrast with her scruffy appearance.

Kanrik finalized the details of Hanso's training and then dismissed Coby and Niki, asking for a word with Hanso.

"Hanso," he said seriously. "I need to talk to you about Niki. She's..." His voice trailed off as he tried to find the right words.

Hanso, meanwhile, was curious to what he would say. _Niki is what? Sick? Incapable? Insane?_ As this was his probable future mentor, he hoped none of those were the case. But thinking of a mentor reminded him of just where he was now. He was a member of the Thieves Guild, and he felt... good. Like this was what he was meant to do, like how all those objects called out to him. They were really telling him his destiny, to be a thief. And look at where he was now.

"Distrusting." Kanrik brought him back to reality.

Hanso was confused. "Distrusting?" he echoed.

Kanrik gave a small sigh. "Niki has never placed much trust in others. Even Coby has trouble talking to her sometimes. She's fast, certainly, and observant, but she overthinks, and she has no trust in anyone. She's convinced herself that she should stay away from others, but no one knows why, _obviously_." Kanrik said the last word with mild exasperation, as if it was a very small problem that had been irking him for too long. "Coby's always said that she'd do better with a thieving partner, but she's always said no to any joint heists. But you..." Kanrik turned and looked Hanso square in the face, making the young Ixi feel small. "You might be what I've been looking for." Kanrik stood up straight and pointed a finger at Hanso's face. "You will be her apprentice, but you will also be her partner. I saw your rash and impulsive stunt all those months ago, and it's exactly the sort of thing she avoids, _but it paid off! _She _needs _to understand this!" Kanrik took a deep breath and calmed down.

Hanso's head was spinning. No, this wasn't what he had expected from joining the Thieves Guild. Heisting and dodging guards he could handle, but helping a girl who was seven years older than him overcome her trust issues?

This would be a challenge...

* * *

><p>"Welcome new recruits!" the captain of the guards yelled into the crowd of chattering kids and teenagers. They fell silent and looked attentively, and with some awe, at the orange Grarrl standing tall in front of them. Brynn nudged Mata once excitedly before giving the captain her full attention.<p>

This only lasted for a second, because Mata's wings slapped her gently on her back in retaliation. Mata had gotten painted Faerie for her birthday a few days ago, and Brynn was still becoming used to the change.

But that didn't matter much now. As far as Brynn was concerned, this was one of the best moments of her life. Here she was, standing with kids _like her_, who believed in justice _just like she did_, and wearing the Brightvale guard tunic and helmet, like they were _all_ part of one force that kept crime from the streets of their city.

It felt amazing.

The captain gave a long speech about how they were all doing a wonderful thing for society and how they should all be proud and how Brightvale was lucky to have people like them willing to stand up for what was right. Brynn clung on to each and every word like a lifeline. Here was proof, undeniable proof, that her dream of being a guard was justified. Not only justified, but it mattered, too.

Some kids in front of her began yawning and shuffling, muttering to each other and asking when the speech was over.

Brynn was indignant. How dare they? Did they really not care? Didn't they realize how important it was to be a guard, to be able to help people and make lives better? Was she the only one in that crowd who actually wanted to be there?

Brynn's moment of fury subsided once the captain started to split up the girls from the boys and make smaller training groups. Brynn's group was pretty small, it was just her, Mata and three other girls. Brynn politely introduced herself and Mata, as her friend wasn't outgoing. They all made small talk for a little while until...

"Is this group number five?"

Brynn spun around and gasped when she saw who it was. There, standing in front of their small group was the electric Cybunny that had caught that Xweetok a few months ago. She looked over Brynn's unconcealed awe and Mata's gentle surprise, gave a small smile and flicked a lock of bright blue hair out of her face.

"Yeah." One of the other girls, a purple Uni, answered her question.

The Cybunny gave a professional nod and motioned for them to follow her. "My name is Alma," she told them as they walked. "I'll be training you girls."

Brynn felt dizzy for a moment. Such a guard, to be her mentor? She beamed over at Mata. "_Isn't this awesome?_" she mouthed.

Mata snorted gently. Brynn's obsession with the law and justice and being a guard could be funny to watch sometimes, even if it did get creepy.

The first day of training was simple enough. Alma went over some of Brightvale's more prominent laws and went over beginner's battle training. Even in this easy lesson, Brynn found herself concentrated solely on doing great, so much so that she found herself trying to memorise the laws and battling much more aggressively than was necessary.

Mata mentioned this as they went back home. Brynn shrugged in reply. She just wanted to be a guard, so what if she showed it in a different way?

They just didn't understand her.

* * *

><p>Thief training, as it turned out, actually <em>did<em> involve training, instead of going into town and learning by trial and error, which was what Hanso had assumed. Instead, he was led by Coby to an underground room, filled with costumes and fake money and valuables to create simulations of people on the street. He saw some apprentices sneaking around, blending in with a "crowd", which were, in fact, their mentors in the Guild. He saw one slip by and successfully grab a watch out of one's coat. Another apprentice didn't have the same luck, and was caught.

_So this is how they learn the basics?_ Hanso wondered. On another side of the room were a few weapons, where some of the thieves trained each other to dodge blows from swords and daggers. There was a lock-picking station, which made Hanso grin. He was brilliant at picking locks, ever since he was young and his parents had locked up the cupboard where they kept the cookies. There was even a place with carefully drawn maps with some locations circled in blue, and places with red crosses.

As it turned out, Hanso had a lot to learn, and this was reflected by how difficult training was. There were so many techniques that he didn't know or wasn't used to, but there were areas where he excelled. He had a knack for lock-picking, which Coby said would be useful if he ever got caught.

Hanso had thought that he'd also be a force to be reckoned with when it came to running and agility, but he found himself being matched step by step by many other thieves who apparently had just as much speed as he did. They were all so different from his friends...

Even running from Niki was a challenge. He was supposed to steal a fake coin from her undetected, but she sensed him at one of the last possible moments and now he was running like he would if it had been the real situation. They ran at the same pace, neither drifting apart nor coming together, until they both reached their limit and paused, choking and gasping for air.

The Kougra got her breath back first and observed the Ixi. Hanso felt a bit creeped out as he struggled for air. When he finally started breathing almost normally again, he decided to ask why.

Niki stayed quiet for a moment. Then she said, "Kanrik wants you to be my partner, doesn't he?"

Hanso's eyes widened. "How... Who- _What?_"

She made a small smile. "You were made my apprentice, instead of one of the older, more experienced thieves here. Many of them haven't gotten an apprentice yet, but he assigned you to _me_. He's always been hinting that I needed someone to work with..." She looked saddened for a moment.

_She doesn't think she's good enough,_ Hanso realised.

"We all saw your heist," Niki continued softly. "It was the sort of thing that I avoid, and Kanrik kept mentioning it to me long after you left." Hanso's little moment of pride from Kanrik's praise faded slowly as Niki continued. "It's clear that he wants you to be my thieving partner. I can see it. I'm right, aren't I?"

Hanso hesitated. Niki was never supposed to find out about any of this, but what would be the point of lying to her now? "Uh... Maybe?"

Niki exhaled. "I knew it," she muttered before turning around and making her way back to Coby.

Hanso ran over. "So what happens now?"

"There's nothing I can do about any of this. You're going to be my apprentice, Kanrik said so." Hanso could hear the hurt in her voice.

"Well..." Hanso struggled to think of something to say to her. "You're stuck with me now. And hey, I'll need someone to save me when I get caught." Hanso hoped that this would never be the case, but the older Kougra seemed to need cheering up.

Niki looked at him through the corner of her eye. "You're a strange kid, Hanso."

Hanso grinned. "Thanks. I take pride in it." He readjusted his jacket in an overly-pompous fashion, then started laughing. Looking over at Niki, he noticed a smile. Not a real smile, but not a sad smile either. A sort of 'maybe this won't be so bad' smile.

And suddenly, Hanso felt a lot better, too. _Maybe I have some charisma after all._

* * *

><p>Sword practice had to be the best thing about guard training. The sword was like a new extension of Brynn's arm, but all the more powerful. With this sword, she realised, she had the power to end someone's life if she wanted. She didn't want to, of course, but knowing that it was a possibility made her feel incredibly empowered.<p>

Every technique that Alma showed them had their different purposes. The jab-and-swing technique was for armed robbers, the flat-side-blow was for running criminals, and there was more and more, so much that Brynn felt a little overwhelmed at the idea of memorizing them all. But if any other guard could do it, so could she.

Learning how to use the handcuffs was a challenge. The metal cuffs slipped from her fingers on more than one occasion, and there were times when the key didn't seem to fit the lock. And there was the time when Brynn left the cuffs a little too loose around the wrists of the 'thief', and she slipped free easily.

"How do you do it?" Brynn complained to Mata, who had just successfully cuffed her third subject.

Mata blinked. "You just... put them on and tighten them? I don't know, Brynn. How do _you_ remember every word of the law?"

"But that's memory! You can't _teach_ memory!" Brynn replied exasperatedly.

Mata heaved a small sigh and picked up a spare pair of handcuffs. "Look, it just seems difficult..."

For the next couple of hours, Brynn and Mata trained themselves with the handcuffs until Brynn successfully got both cuffs over Mata's wrists and took them off again.

"You see?" Mata said. "You just needed a little help."

Brynn smiled. "Now I know who to go to if I ever need help again."

Mata grimaced. "I think you should ask Alma if anything confuses you in the future. I don't think I could stand teaching you anything else."

Brynn nudged Mata with her elbow. Mata smirked and pulled Brynn's helmet down over her eyes.

But training had its downsides too. There was a part of training that involved hand to hand combat, in case it was ever needed. Most of the trainee guards complained that their opponent was being to aggressive. This opponent normally happened to be Brynn, who in turn complained that the others weren't trying hard enough and it wasn't enough of a challenge.

After a while of this, Brynn got cornered by Alma. "Hey Brynn, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Brynn jumped up. "Sure. Why?" She wasn't sure whether she should have been excited or nervous.

"Let's walk," Alma suggested. She led Brynn outside of the fighting arena and through the halls of the Training Center, stopping at a door, which she opened and went inside.

It was a little room, with papers littered on a desk and spilling over onto the floor. There were a few plants here and there, and a large window letting sunlight into the room, despite the dust that coated it. Alma's office.

"Brynn," Alma started to say.

"Am I in trouble?" a horrified Brynn asked. Maybe she should have gone easier on the other trainees...

"No," Alma said firmly. Brynn let out a shaky sigh of relief. She had been scared for a moment, there.

"Brynn, you want to be an amazing guard, don't you?"

Brynn's jaw dropped open. Wasn't it obvious? Or was she deluding herself, and she wasn't showing it enough. _From this moment on, I'll work 200% harder,_ she thought to herself.

"Brynn..." The Kougra looked up and saw her mentor remove her helmet, shaking the sweaty blue locks out of her face. "I was a lot like you, you know. I wanted to be the best guard there could ever be. I thought there was right and wrong, good and bad. I thought that if I pushed myself enough, there would be nothing in the way of being the greatest guard that ever lived."

Brynn's heart almost stopped. That was _exactly_ what she thought and what she felt! And Alma had turned out to be such an incredible guard...

"But to be a great guard, you have to put effort into your training, surely, but you don't need to overdo it," Alma continued. "There's a whole different side to the guards that isn't just upholding the law. It's also knowing when a crime is justified."

Brynn gaped at her. A crime, _justified?_ Crime was never justifiable, it was _crime! _And what did this have to do with _anything?_

Brynn noticed Alma's expression, a distant, almost regretful expression. It was... sad. And when she spoke next, she sounded sad, too. "It's shocking, when you realize that there's more to life than just good and bad. There's a mix, you know? Some people steal because they want to, but so many of them do it because they _need_ to. Not all criminals are who they are because they wanted to be..." Her voice trailed off and she seemed to remember that Brynn was in the room. "Sorry," she said, laughing softly and pushing some hair out of her eyes. "I guess I got caught up in- never mind. But Brynn, you have to understand that no matter how hard you try now, you and your teammates graduate and become guards as a group. Trying harder than any number of them won't get you any further ahead. Save all that energy for when you're inducted into the guards. Who knows? Maybe one day, you'll be the greatest captain of the guards that ever lived."

Brynn's heart skipped a beat. _Captain? Her?_ Brynn as _captain?_ She was feeling giddy with excitement. Now _that_ would be a real dream come true. And Alma said that she could do it, so it must have been possible.

"I will!" she exclaimed, her new goal floating around her like a mist, not solid enough to grasp, but within sight.

Alma grinned. "And don't forget what I said about training as a group," she warned as she opened the door to let Brynn out.

"I won't," Brynn promised. It was good that Alma had cleared that up for her: focus on getting everyone able to graduate, then become the best guard that ever lived. Maybe even captain...

But one thing still bothered her. Why had Alma talked about justified crime? Criminals weren't good at all, they were all evil and deserved to be punished for what they did.

...Right? Or were there really exceptions?

_I wonder who that exception would be,_ Brynn mused. Then she snorted. _Like I'd ever meet one._

* * *

><p>As it turned out, graduating from an apprentice to a real thief wasn't a celebration as Hanso had thought, and had half-hoped for. Instead they were done quietly in Kanrik's office, and the leader of the Thieves Guild let the apprentice in question let people know if they wished it themselves.<p>

When Hanso asked why, Kanrik gave a dark chuckle and muttered something about having a celebration every other day, because another thing that Hanso didn't know about the Thieves Guild was that once an apprentice turned eighteen, they were immediately given a thief's status, unless there was a good reason to keep training them. And the Thieves Guild was a lot larger than Hanso had thought. Apparently there were new apprentices and thieves made pretty much every week, with some thieves coming in from all over Neopia.

The Thieves Guild wasn't just a little group of talented robbers, it was a worldwide organization. Almost every thief on the planet was a member, or aspired to be. And Kanrik was their leader, a good one at that. Better than Galem could ever hope to be, some said.

So when Niki was given her title of "Thief" and given Hanso as an apprentice, it was hurried and uneventful. Hanso felt a little bad for her, because despite getting her new ranking, it was still her birthday, and she knew Kanrik's intentions behind giving her Hanso as an apprentice.

As they left Kanrik's office, Hanso was struggling with a strange feeling of 'what now?' "So..." he started, trying to create a conversation. Then an idea hit. "When are we going to steal from real people instead of just training?"

Niki glanced over in his direction. In the few months he had known her, Hanso was getting better at reading her facial expressions. Right now, it seemed to say, "you're eager, aren't you?", but of course she didn't say that out loud. Niki rarely spoke anyway.

"Later," she decided. "You still need some stealth training."

"When?" he pressed.

"Later," Niki repeated firmly. Then her expression softened. "Soon."

Hanso brightened up. "Soon?"

"Soon."

* * *

><p>"Good job, Brynn," Alma praised as the Kougra demonstrated her mastery of the swing-and-jab technique with the sword. Brynn flushed with pride.<p>

She watched the other girls show off their own skills with their swords. They were all improving every day, and Brynn was certain that they'd all become guards in the near future.

Brynn was impressed with Mata over everyone else. Her friend had never been the most active person, and Brynn never thought that her love of justice was as strong as her own, but Mata was keeping up well with the other girls. Her skills with a sword were average, but she could run in her armour faster than any of the other girls. Brynn had no doubt that it would come in handy one day.

Alma thought so too, as she was beginning to see all the girls' different strengths and weaknesses. She was teaching Mata some simpler sword techniques, and encouraging her to practice cuffing while moving. As for Brynn, she was learning more complicated sword techniques, and working on new combat moves, since before she had just fought tooth and nail, wearing herself out quickly.

And the best part was that Brynn no longer had trouble with handcuffs.

"Okay girls, listen up!" Alma called their attention and the girls stopped what they were doing. "Next week, our group is going on patrol with the other Brightvale guards."

Brynn almost squealed in excitement. Her first patrol!

"This will be some good experience for all of you, but I don't expect you to catch a thief on your very first day," Alma continued with a smile, seeing all of the girls' excitement.

Brynn, of course, still hoped that she would. She knew that as a group, they all succeeded or failed, but catching her first criminal would be amazing...

* * *

><p>"Where are we going?" Hanso asked when Niki steered him away from the normal training area.<p>

"You'll see," she replied.

She led him out of the Thieves Guild and through the forest. After a little while, Hanso had an epiphany.

"Are we going to Brightvale?" he asked.

Niki smiled gently. Hanso had grown on her.

Hanso punched his fist in the air in victory. "I knew it!" he cried.

Niki shushed him and continued leading him through the trees. Soon, the sounds of a city could be heard.

Before they could get to any heisting, Niki showed Hanso all of the best places to hide if he was being pursued, and all the places where he was pretty much guaranteed to be caught. Kanrik wasn't kidding when he said that Niki overthought everything. This was possibly the most she had ever talked, and every word was planning, planning, planning.

Hanso observed Niki creeping up on an unsuspecting civilian and "accidentally" bumping into her. After apologizing, Niki walked away and managed to disappear into the crowd just as the civilian noticed that her necklace was missing...

Niki tossed the necklace at Hanso, who caught it and examined it with awe. "Nice," he approved.

"Now," Niki started to say.

Hanso fought back a groan. More planning. As Niki went on, he looked lazily around. There was a man holding out an expensive pocket-watch and showing it off to his friends. Suddenly an urge overcame Hanso and he sped off, fueled solely by impulse. He heard Niki calling after him, but he paid her no notice. He ran up next to the man, snatched the watch and kept running.

A few minutes later, Hanso returned triumphantly to his mentor with the watch in his grasp. Niki, though impressed, asked him to listen to her in the future, because although his way worked that time around, it was more likely to land him in jail. But Hanso was on a thieving high. This was his first real heist as a real thief, and he wasn't going to let some stupid plan get in his way.

The remainder of the day was an inner battle between mentor and apprentice. Both successfully completed heist after heist in their own ways. There were times when Hanso almost got caught, whereas Niki always left undetected, but that didn't stop the Ixi from doing what he knew best: acting upon instinct. He trusted his gut more than any plan his brain could come up with, and that was a fact.

Presently, his gut was urging him to steal from a young Kougra guard-in-training. It would be a ridiculous and irresponsible move.

Of course Hanso was up for it.

Niki saw him looking and grabbed his arm. "No," she commanded.

Hanso shook off her grip. "Relax Nik," he said breezily. "If I get caught for this, I'll give you everything I got today, okay?"

Niki stared at him incredulously. "No, it's not okay! And-" she stopped suddenly. "Nik?"

Hanso grinned. "What, you never got a nickname before?" he teased. Before she could reply, he darted off in the direction of the young guard. He knew that Niki wouldn't call after him; She was smart enough to realise that it would only call attention to himself. He trusted his gut, and maybe eventually she would learn to trust hers.

And that was what Kanrik had instructed him to do.

Upon closer observation, the guard wasn't as young as he had thought. She had to be about his age. A little orange Kougra with a helmet that was just slightly too big for her, and a bag dangling limply by her side. Probably filled with money.

_Jackpot._

Hanso crept silently, remembering the stealth lesson that Niki had insisted he take. He moved noiselessly, as if walking on air. He was close now, the bag was within reaching distance.

He moved out a hand and...

Another closed around his wrist.

Hanso's heart sank. _Busted._

* * *

><p>"Who are you?" Brynn demanded in an authoritative tone of voice. Could it be? Did she just catch her first criminal?<p>

The possible thief, a blue Ixi who was about her age, looked horrified for a moment. Then, for one reason or another, he grinned. _What on Neopia is he doing?_

"Um, stealing? But you probably figured that out already, right?" he gave a small laugh, seeming a whole lot calmer than he had been when she had caught him. That was strange. Brynn had expected a struggle, or at least denial. But this thief seemed completely at ease with this whole situation.

What was _wrong_ with him?

Brynn took out her handcuffs and locked the Ixi's hands behind his back. His confession was as good as it was going to get, not to mention his pockets looked suspiciously full.

"What's in there?" she demanded, pointing at his jacket.

"More stuff," he replied unconcernedly.

"Stolen?"

"Maybe..." His grin was starting to get on her nerves.

"You're under arrest for attempted thievery and past crimes," she said, savoring the sound of the words. She wanted him to fear her, to make sure that he never stole again.

"Okay then. Oh, and I'm Hanso, by the way. I'd shake your hand, but..." He jingled the cuffs behind him, still grinning at her.

Brynn's expression turned stony. "Come on," she muttered gruffly, pulling him along.

Why was he so unbothered? Did he not care, or was he just stupid? Didn't he understand that the law was something to live by, and not against?

"I never got your name," he commented.

"I never gave it to you," she retorted acidly.

"Someone's angry," he mumbled, nudging her gently with his elbow. Brynn slapped him on the back of his head. "Ow!"

"Did I mention that you have the right to remain silent?" she asked him.

"No."

"Well you do."

"What if I don't want to?" Ugh, he was so _irritating!_

"Well _I_ want you to," she snapped.

"Only if you tell me your name," he bargained.

Brynn sighed, defeated. "I'm Brynn," she said in a monotone.

Hanso raised an eyebrow. "Brynn? Is that short for something?"

"Actually, it's short for Brynneth, but I prefer-" She stopped herself, angry. "Didn't I tell you to be quiet?"

Hanso gave one final grin and looked forward. Brynn, meanwhile, was confused. Normally, it took forever for her to tell anyone her real name. Even when she turned in her guard's application, she made sure that it only said 'Brynn'. So why did it slip out so easily around Hanso?

With a start, she realised that Hanso was the first real thief that she ever met, which sparked some curiosity. Maybe she could get some answers to the questions she had.

"Why do you steal?"

Hanso did a surprised double take. He mouthed words and then looked confused and shrugged.

Brynn slid her face onto her free hand. "I revoke your right to remain silent," she said flatly.

"Oh, thank you. I was wondering what was happening to me-"

"Answer my question." Brynn wasn't in the mood for Hanso's little jokes.

Hanso shrugged again. "Some steal for pleasure, others for their family. I steal because it's the only thing I'm good at."

_What? _Hanso's comment reminded Brynn a little of her conversation with Alma. "But why do you steal when other people work hard to get their own money and things?" she pressed.

"Hey, it's tough being a thief too. People are extremely crafty these days." There was something about the way he talked that made Brynn feel like he was being sincere, but also making fun of her at the same time.

"So why don't you get a job like anyone else?" she asked, still curious despite her dislike of him.

Hanso's grin faded slowly. "That's not always an option," he said, his voice shifting to a serious tone.

"How?"

Hanso looked thoughtful for a moment. "Think of it this way," he said. "Imagine a family with a lot of children. Almost all of them are sick, but they don't have enough money to get treated, and then one of the parents or kids steals the money to get medicine. When everyone's better and the parents try to find work, they won't get hired anywhere because their family has a criminal record. It's like a cycle, you know? And what if just the parents are sick? Then no one in the family has a job, and the only way to survive is to steal from some rich person who has too much for their own good." Hanso finished, leaving Brynn speechless for a second.

"But not all of you have needy families," she protested.

"And not all of us could find jobs anyways. It's survival, Brynn. Thieving isn't only because we want to. Some of us have to."

Brynn swallowed. What had seemed to clear to her since she was young was beginning to blur around the edges. "And what about you?" she asked. "You said that-"

"It's the only thing I'm good at? It's true. Some people are artists, others are doctors. I'm a thief, because that's how it turned out. It's like the thing with the jobs again. If you're not good at anything, what's left to do?"

They had reached Brightvale Castle. Brynn showed Hanso over to Alma, who congratulated her and pointed over to the dungeons. As they passed by, she gave Hanso a curious look.

The trip downstairs was a quiet one, as was the one to a free jail cell. It was only as Brynn took the handcuffs off of Hanso that he spoke up. "And what's your story? Being a guard, I mean."

Brynn led him into the cell, stepped out and locked it. "It's the law. It's what keeps good from bad, and it keeps people safe. It's just..." she struggled for words to describe it.

Hanso was shaking his head. Brynn stopped thinking and fumed. Hanso spoke again. "Brynn, you don't really believe all that, do you? There's good, there's bad, and there's people in the middle. No one is just one or the other."

Brynn felt like she just got hit in the face with a stone. "You're wrong," she said shakily, clenching both fists. "You're wrong," she repeated louder, walking away from the cell.

Hanso blinked and broke out in a grin again. "I guess I'll be seeing you around, huh?" he asked.

Brynn didn't reply. She turned around and broke out into a run up the stairs.

This wasn't how she planned her first capture to go.

* * *

><p><em>Well, I'm stuck now. Nice going, Hanso.<em> The young thief groaned and leaned against the wall, sliding down until he was in a sitting position. There was nothing to do in this cell, so he just thought back to what had happened.

His gut had gotten him in trouble, for one thing. And now he owed Niki everything he'd heisted, which Brynn, in her confusion, had forgotten to confiscate from him. And then there was Brynn herself, who was different from anyone he'd ever met before. She was so fixated on one ideal that everyone was either good or bad, and that it was her job to keep them apart and in their place.

And underneath all that was a girl his age. From the way she had gotten irritated by him, to the way she had told him her full name, he had to remember that the trainee guard was also just another kid. The thought made him smile a little. _There's still hope for you,_ he thought.

And when she told him her name, did that mean trust? Hanso knew that if he had been named anything as awkward as _Brynneth_ that he'd keep it hidden from anyone. Unless Brynn wasn't really embarrassed by her name?

Why was he thinking about her so much anyway? What about his own situation? Getting caught by a guard on his first thieving expedition was embarrassing too. And how was he supposed to escape?

There was a barred window above his head, but he had nothing to cut through the bars. The gate in front of him was locked, but he had nothing to pick it with. The stolen goods in his pockets were about as helpful as Rainbow Dung to him, now.

There was nothing to do but sit and wait.

Perhaps luck was on Hanso's side that day, because not too long later, he heard a hiss above him.

Jumping up, startled, his head swung upward to see the face of another Kougra, and one that he knew well.

"Niki?" he whispered.

Niki reached out a gloved hand through the bars in the window and let a small object drop downward. As Hanso stooped over and picked it up, he saw with delight that it was a lock-picking tool. He looked back up to thank her, but Niki had already disappeared like a shadow in the night.

Picking locks was difficult with one tool only, but Hanso was still able to escape within minutes. He sped up the stairs, slipped around corners and avoided guards until he saw freedom in the form of an open door.

Once outside, he remembered one of the places that Niki had showed him where it was possible to hide nearby the castle. Sprinting in its direction, he looked in all directions to make sure that he wasn't being followed. He didn't notice Niki until he almost ran straight into her.

As he caught his breath, Niki was glaring at him furiously. Hanso had never heard Niki yell, but he was expecting that he would hear it very soon.

"I told you to listen to me," Niki said in a low, menacing whisper. Hanso shivered. On second thought, he might have preferred the yelling.

"Sorry," he gasped, still struggling for breath.

"That was an incredibly stupid thing to do," Niki continued, still talking in that low whisper that made the outside air feel as if it had plummeted ten degrees. "They know your face now."

"And I know how easy it is to break out now, too," Hanso defended himself.

"That is beside the point. You need to learn that there is a time and place for impulse. If you'd just planned it out-"

"Maybe if you would just calm down and trust me!" Hanso cut across his mentor.

Niki's eyes narrowed. "And let you get caught again? I don't think so." She began heading toward the path that led back to the Thieves Guild, and Hanso trailed behind her.

"And by the way, this means that you owe me all the loot you bagged, Hans," Niki said, her voice having returned back to its soft self.

Hanso was confused. "Hans?"

"What, you've never gotten a nickname before?" she replied quietly and triumphantly.

Hanso took a moment to register his own words being used against him. He grinned. "Never in my life, Nik."

* * *

><p>How is it that one encounter with a complete stranger could challenge everything you've ever believed in? Brynn was wondering this as she sat cross-legged on her bed, telling her story to Mata.<p>

People were good or bad, and crime was crime, and then some thief had tried to convince her otherwise. The worst part was that, just for a moment, he had succeeded.

"He's wrong, isn't he? I'm right, or am I just kidding myself?" she asked, desperate for an answer.

Brynn looked so lost and confused and upset. Mata sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

Mata had never shared Brynn's point of view on justice. Having read many books and novels, Mata had known from a younger age than most the difference between right and wrong on one side, and on another side, what was real. Life was never as simple as black and white, it was full of shades of grey. Brynn had never seen the grey in her life, except for her recent encounter. She understood right and wrong, but she couldn't seem to grasp the idea of _why_ people did those wrong things. Mata understood, but she had no idea how to explain it to her friend, so she had never contradicted Brynn whenever she had gone on a rant about crime and why it was bad.

Brynn was seeing things in a different light, and maybe that was a good thing. Inwardly, Mata hoped that her friend would run into that thief again someday.

Maybe he could explain what Mata couldn't. Maybe he could help Brynn see the shades of grey.

* * *

><p>"STOP! THIEF!" someone in the crowd yelled, pointing.<p>

The now twelve year old Brynn ran in the direction that the woman indicated, her speed decreased a bit from the heavy chain mail that she wore.

Up ahead was a crowd that the thief would have a very hard time getting through, Brynn knew. His or her head start would vanish.

Sure enough, the next thing Brynn knew was that she was grabbing the sleeve of a familiar slate grey jacket and glaring at a blue Ixi.

Hanso grinned. "Happy to see me?"

Brynn rolled her eyes as she took out the handcuffs. "Thrilled," she said sarcastically.

Hanso feigned a wounded look. "Hey, that's no way to greet a friend," he scolded.

Brynn rolled her eyes. "Define 'friend'."

"That person that you've been catching for the past year that you always talk to," Hanso replied steadily, without missing a beat.

Brynn's mouth twitched into a smile, but she replaced it quickly with a sneer. "You're a thief and I'm a guard. We are _not_ friends," she corrected him as she closed the metal shackles around his wrists.

"Whatever you say, Brynneth," Hanso replied with a wink.

Brynn's face flushed with embarrassment. "Shut up!"

Hanso gave another trademark grin while Brynn gave a customary glare. For the past year or so, Brynn had been catching Hanso again and again. And every time she did, he managed to either annoy her or make her laugh. Recently, it had turned into a bit of both.

Maybe they were friends, but it was a strange friendship.

As Brynn led him back to the dungeons, Hanso always tried to make conversation. "How're the parents doing?"

"Fine."

"Oh, I see, you're in a one word answer mood today, right?"

"Maybe."

"Hm... What colour is the sky today?"

"Blue."

"What city are we in?"

"Brightvale."

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"You're not holding up any fingers," Brynn said, confused.

"Aha!" Hanso grinned. "That was more than one word!"

"Aw, come on!" Brynn pouted before breaking out in a smile. "I guess I walked right into that."

"Do you still believe thieves are evil?" Hanso asked.

"Absolutely."

"Even me?"

"Especially you," Brynn told him.

"Hey!" Hanso pretended to look offended, making Brynn laugh. Hanso exaggerated the expression further and Brynn laughed harder. "Still don't think we're friends?" he asked.

"Nope."

They had reached the castle and were going down the stairs to the dungeon. Brynn released Hanso from the handcuffs, confiscated his lock-picking tools and locked him in his cell.

"Don't escape this time," she warned him.

"No promises," he replied with a mischievous grin.

Brynn walked back up the stairs, knowing fully well that he'd escape before her shift was over. In this way, Hanso was predictable. And after the last few guards had stuck around to make certain that he wouldn't escape, they had been found knocked unconscious in Hanso's cell with the thief nowhere in sight.

Hanso was just one of those people that no amount of correction would keep him down, and Brynn respected him for that, even if he was a thief. And there was just something about his grin that made her feel comfortable around him, maybe even trusting.

Regardless, he was a thief, and guards should never trust thieves. Ever. At all.

* * *

><p>Hanso escaped within ten minutes, using the lock pick that he kept hidden in his boot. Escaping was laughably easy. Any guard that tried to stop him was an idiot.<p>

Well, maybe not Brynn, but she was normally the one that caught him in the first place.

Niki was waiting for him at their usual rendezvous point. Hanso knew that she was never too thrilled with him being caught all the time, and he expected his usual scolding.

He wasn't disappointed. "Hanso, you can't keep getting stopped," she told him. In some ways, it was amazing how she stayed quiet and authoritative at the same time.

"And I told you before, it's fine. They catch me, I escape, the cycle continues. I don't get the big deal," he argued.

"This is no way to become a successful thief," Niki continued.

"I've heard this before," Hanso said dismissively.

Niki frowned. "It won't keep working. What happens when not being caught is a necessity?"

"I've actually thought of that," Hanso admitted.

Niki's frown went away, replacing itself with a small smile. "Did I hear that right? Hans thought up a plan?"

Hanso grinned. "Wrong, Nik. Hans thought up an amazing, brilliant, _genius_ plan."

Niki leaned her back against a tree. "Lets hear it."

Niki had indeed come out of her shell a little since Hanso became her apprentice. He had been working hard to gain her trust so that he could help her listen to her gut, more like he did. And working with Niki had helped Hanso with his planning skills, even if it was just a little.

One thing that Hanso was noticing more and more was how similarly he acted around both Niki and Brynn. It seemed that he was always running back and forth between both Kougras. He always thought of being chased by Brynn whenever he was training with Niki, and he found himself trying to gain Brynn's trust as well as Niki's.

He hoped that he wouldn't accidentally confuse their names. That would just be awkward...

"My plan, even though it's genius, is simple. It's the simplicity that makes it so brilliant," Hanso started.

Niki remained silent and waited for him to continue. That was one difference between her and Brynn: if Hanso had said the same thing to Brynn, he'd be getting an eye-roll. Or maybe a slap to the head.

"It goes like this. The next time we're heisting, and I'm about to be caught, I give all the loot to you, and I get taken away, break out, and we're fine. And if you're about to be arrested, I create a distraction, and the same thing happens." Hanso paused for a breath.

Niki's eyebrows contracted in confusion. "I don't see how this plan is-"

"Oh, I haven't even gotten to the genius part yet," Hanso interrupted her. "You see, in order for this to work and for us to get the most things possible..." Hanso paused, gearing up for what he was going to say next. "We drop the plans. All of them. We just go with the flow and see what happens," he finished proudly. _Pure genius._

Niki shook her head slowly, blinking her eyes hard. "No," she said firmly.

"Aw, don't be like that, Nik!" Hanso protested. "At least give it a try!"

Niki shook her head again. This was a similarity between Niki and Brynn. Both were stubborn.

Hanso could be stubborn too, if he wanted. "What? Don't you see the amazingness of my plan?"

Niki still looked impassive. "No, Hanso. I never got caught because I planned everything out. I can't get arrested like you did."

"And that's where the first part of my plan comes in!" Hanso persisted. "You get off free, and I break myself out! You keep a jail-free record, and I get to show off my escaping skills!"

Niki looked uncertain. "Hanso, no, I can't-"

"Just once?" Hanso asked, opening his amber eyes wide.

Niki looked at him and sighed in defeat. "Once."

* * *

><p>"Caught him again, huh?"<p>

Brynn whipped around to see Alma smiling at her. Brynn stood up straighter. "Yes I did," she replied proudly.

Alma walked over to her. "Personally, I think it's great that you're catching him so often. That happened to me once with another thief, and we became good friends."

_Friends?_ "E-Excuse me," Brynn stammered. "I think I misheard you. Did you say that you were friends with a thief?"

Alma looked at her strangely. "And you don't think that you are?" she questioned.

Brynn felt the limits of right and wrong start to blur again. "But... But we're _guards!_" she exclaimed, as if it explained everything. Didn't it?

"Where in the rulebook does it say that guards and thieves aren't allowed to be friends?" Alma asked her.

Brynn was confused. "You mean it doesn't say that?"

Alma picked up the guard's rulebook and flipped through the pages, lightning fast. "Nowhere in here does it say that we can't." She set the book back down.

"But isn't it, like, against the idea of a guard? It doesn't make sense!" Brynn protested.

"Look Brynn, it's frowned upon for a guard to have a thief as a friend, but it's not illegal, nor is it impossible. Besides, thieves make interesting friends."

Brynn fell silent. She didn't know what to say. She managed a 'thank you' and a 'goodbye' before leaving her mentor and heading home.

Mata was waiting for her by the exit. "What's wrong, Brynn?" she asked, noticing Brynn's distress.

"I don't know," Brynn waved off the question and kept walking. Mata followed her.

"It's the thief again, isn't it?" Mata asked her suddenly, snapping her fingers.

Brynn sighed. "Look, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm sure-"

"You know, I'd like to meet him one day," Mata said.

This caught Brynn by surprise. "Really?" she asked.

Mata nodded. "I've never caught a thief before, let alone talked to one," she said thoughtfully.

Brynn was friends with Mata. She might be friends with Hanso. Alma befriended a thief before. If Mata met Hanso, would they become friends? Would that be okay? Frowned upon, but not illegal. And definitely not impossible.

Brynn smiled. "I'll introduce you the next time I catch him," she promised.

* * *

><p>Hanso's plan, though far from genius, was a good one. Niki was starting to trust her instincts more, and the couple of times that she was almost caught, Hanso was there to provide a distraction, allowing her to escape. They collected more items and brought back more money than most of the other members of the Thieves Guild.<p>

Niki was still quiet and reserved, but she talked to Hanso more than she used to. It seemed that any notion she once had of not being good enough to be a solo thief was going away. She finally seemed to understand that she was a great solo thief, but she did even better with Hanso helping her out.

Even though they were mentor and apprentice, they regarded each other as the brother and sister that neither of them had ever had. Around others, they called it "a strictly professional relationship", and in a way it was. Who said no one professional ever made friends with their colleagues?

Back in Brightvale, Hanso and Niki were scanning the crowd.

"Purple Aisha with a red handbag, straight ahead," Hanso whispered to his mentor. Niki squinted and looked around before nodding, indicating that she had found their next victim.

"If anything goes wrong, I'll knock over that fruit stand and take something, okay?" Hanso told her.

"Okay," Niki whispered back before darting from their hiding place. Hanso felt proud of her, she really was getting more impulsive.

Niki sped through the crowd, looking like she was in a hurry to get somewhere. She "bumped" into the purple Aisha as she passed. All was going well...

"Thief!" the Aisha shrieked.

_And that's my cue,_ Hanso thought as he too sped out from the cover of his hiding place and crashed into the fruit stand. Taking what he could and making sure he was seen, he jumped up and started to run.

A hand grabbed him almost instantly from behind. "Not so fast," came a familiar voice.

Hanso didn't struggle. "Caught again?" he asked casually.

"It looks like it," Brynn replied as she slid the handcuffs around his wrists and taking back everything he stole, apologizing to the owner of the stand.

"You know," she told him, "I'm starting to think that you _try_ to get caught."

"Nah, you just got lucky a few times," he replied. "Besides, you like talking to me. You even started the conversation this time."

Brynn scowled. "Shut up."

"Ah, my right to remain silent, I almost forgot about it," Hanso joked. He had no intention of shutting up.

"You didn't answer me," Brynn reminded him.

"It's fun getting caught."

"...You can't be serious."

"I am. Escaping is also fun."

"I can't believe you."

Hanso grinned. "Hey, it's been about a year that this has been going on. Surely you've noticed it by now?"

Brynn shook her head. "Seriously though, because it's fun? That's just... messed up."

Hanso awkwardly tried to shrug, a difficult task while being cuffed. "Some people have video games, others have books. I get to run around, laugh at people and break out of jail."

Brynn snorted. "That's-"

"And what do you do for fun, huh? Chase people and lock them in underground rooms against their will?" Hanso interjected.

Brynn glared at him. "That's different. I uphold the law," she said importantly.

It was Hanso's turn to snort. "What, that old thing?"

That comment earned him a whack on the back of the head. "Hey," he protested. "Do you treat all your friends like that?"

"Only the stupid ones," Brynn replied.

Hanso did a double-take and smiled. "So you admit it!"

"Admit what?"

"I'm your friend."

"Yeah, and?"

Hanso looked shocked. "Hello? Brynn? What happened to all the 'guards are above thieves' ideas that you have?"

Brynn smiled as she said, "Nowhere in the guards rulebook does it say that guards and thieves can't be friends. It's frowned upon, but not illegal."

Hanso took a moment to register her words. "So you don't think that all thieves are evil now?"

"Nope, you're all still worthless pieces of scum." Brynn wasn't ready to let everything she'd ever believed be thrown away. "You're just a worthless piece of scum who I happen to talk to."

"So... You trust me?"

Brynn stopped in her tracks, and Hanso stumbled. "Hey, what gives?" he demanded.

_So... You trust me?_ Did she? He was a thief, certainly, but did it actually... matter? What useful information could he gain from her trust? He was already an accomplished escape artist, and he'd been caught more times than Brynn could count. The worst he could do was let all the other criminals out of their cells, but that had never happened, and that wasn't even based on her trust anyway. What harm could come from her trusting him, especially since they were friends now?

Brynn started walking again, pulling Hanso along. "Maybe."

He looked up. "Huh?"

"Maybe I trust you. Now come on, lets get to your cell. There's someone I want you to meet."

* * *

><p>When Brynn returned to the dungeons with Mata, Hanso was still sitting there, like he said he would be.<p>

"Hanso, this is Mata. Mata, Hanso," Brynn introduced them both.

Hanso stuck a hand through the bars of his cell. "Hello," he said politely.

"Hey," Mata greeted, shaking his hand.

There was a silence that followed this. None of them knew what to say. Really, the difference between guard and thief marked any sort of conversation-starter. _What's it like being a thief? Does that guard armour get annoying? How do you escape?_

They all did manage to have a conversation, chatting about little, unimportant things like some friends do until it was time for Brynn and Mata to leave.

"I guess you'll be busting out of here soon, huh?" Brynn asked him before she left.

Hanso grinned. "You know it."

* * *

><p>They hadn't planned this. For once, Hanso wished that they hadn't been so impulsive. Just this one time.<p>

But they had been, and now he and Niki were both running form the guards, guards who were certainly not Brynn.

"Come on, Nik," he urged his mentor. "Faster!"

Both of them were running at full speed, and the Brightvale guards were in hot pursuit. It didn't seem to matter in which direction they ran or how many alleyways they took, the guards were still managing to follow them with ease.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" one of them yelled.

"Not true," Niki replied quietly, her words directed at Hanso. He knew what she meant.

Quickly, they both sped around a corner heading to a place where they hoped the guards wouldn't look for them. Luckily, there were a lot of twists and turns in the way to get there, which confused the guards a little and gave them a little more time.

"Almost there," Hanso gasped, straining for the final stretch. On the road they were on, there was a house that looked new, but had been abandoned years ago. They could hide in there until it was safe. "Just a little further..."

Hanso ran right into an orange Kougra and fell over. Niki didn't have enough time to react, and she tripped over Hanso. Both of them looked at each other in horror. Were they both about to get caught?

"Hanso?"

The Ixi in question's mouth fell open in shock. The Kougra he had ran into was none other than Brynn. She looked at him and Niki, then heard the sound of yelling nearby. Something seemed to click in her mind.

Quickly, she helped both of them up and pushed them in the direction of the house they were aiming for. "Go!" she hissed at them.

Hanso spun around, confused. "But Brynn, what-"

"Never mind, just go! Don't make me regret this!" Brynn looked angry with herself.

"But-"

Niki grabbed Hanso's arm. "Thank you," she said softly before dragging Hanso over to the house.

Once inside, Hanso heard the sounds of the guards questioning Brynn, and the sound of footsteps past the house. _Why did she do that?_

He wondered this while he and his mentor remained hidden, and while they went home in silence. But right before he or Niki went back inside the Thieves Guild building, Niki stopped him. "You know, that was almost fun," she said simply.

Hanso couldn't help but grin.

* * *

><p><em>What have I gotten myself into?<em> Brynn wondered.

Word had leaked out that she had helped not one, but two thieves evade capture, and now she had to face the captain of the guards, with Alma standing by uncomfortably.

The captain leaned forward from his desk. "So?"

"I don't know why I did it," she answered honestly.

The captain sighed and leaned back again. "I don't know what to tell you, Brynn. This is a serious offense. You could be removed from the guards for this."

Brynn felt panic and lost all rational thought. "No, sir, you can't do that!"

It was at that moment that Brynn realised that she didn't know the captain's name, and had never thought to ask. Was it strange that she looked up to and aspired to have the job of a man that she didn't even know the name of?

The captain looked at Brynn in disappointment. "You had the makings of such a good guard, too, but this can't be overlooked. Trusting a thief never got anyone anywhere-"

"Oh, shut it, will you?" Alma snapped. Both Brynn and the captain looked at her in surprise. "Maybe trusting a thief never got _you_ anywhere, but do you remember how I used to be? Some people can tell that life isn't just black and white from the moment they were born, but there are others like Brynn and I who needed a little help to see the grey in between. I was friends with a thief, do you remember that? And now I'm one of the best guards in the league." Alma paused for a few deep breaths after her outburst. She continued a little more gently. "Trusting a thief helped me see the times when a crime was for a good cause. Brynn is like me. She might even be better than I'll ever be, and if letting a couple of thieves go _once_ is enough for you to kick her out of the guards, then please pardon me, but you must be wrong in the head."

The captain blinked slowly, opened his mouth, closed it again and shook his head. He looked over at Brynn and said, "Don't let it happen again. You're free to go."

Overwhelming relief swept through Brynn. "Thank you," she gasped.

The captain waved her and Alma out. It was obvious that he didn't want them around any longer, great guards though they were.

Brynn's relief turned into gratitude. "Thank you," she said again.

Alma smiled at her. "Hey, I just told the truth. It helps in situations like these."

"Did you mean it?" Brynn asked in a hushed whisper.

"You mean that you might be better than me? Like I said, I told the truth. Goodnight, Brynn." Alma patted her on the shoulder and left.

* * *

><p>Two weeks later, Hanso was stopped once again in the middle of a heist by Brynn. But instead of their usual banter, they walked in silence.<p>

Hanso was still confused as to why Brynn did what she did. Brynn was wondering if she should tell Hanso about almost getting kicked out of the guards because of him. But what was the point in that?

From a black and white perspective, Brynn had done the wrong thing, and she should have been evicted from the guards. But from another perspective, Brynn had helped a friend in his time of need, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with that.

There were the shades of grey. They were still blurry, but Brynn was able to see them. And it was all thanks to Alma and the Ixi next to her.

No, Hanso didn't need to know what had happened with the captain. It wasn't really his concern, after all. Even if she did trust a thief, she still had a job to do.

Maybe the shades of grey would help her become the best guard she could ever be.

"Why are you smiling?" Hanso asked, jolting her away from her thoughts.

"I am?" Brynn lifted a hand to her face. Sure enough, there was a smile. "Honestly, I didn't even notice."

* * *

><p><em>Echo Note: Wow. This took forever to write. Hopefully it's relatively good...<em>

_So what did you think? Good? Bad? Mediocre? Does it deserve to be published as its own oneshot? Did I follow the criteria well? It was kinda vague... That's probably the reason why there's over 13 000 words..._

_Don't forget to send me more requests! I've started Wolf Princess girl's already._

_On a completely unrelated note, the sixteenth (also known as Monday) marks the end of my first year on FFnet. However, this is also a holiday in the USA, so I feel that I shouldn't be focusing so much on my FFnet birthday... Review, please! And send me more requests!_


	4. Crimes and Dysfunction

Crimes and Dysfunction

_Rating: K+ - T (censored swearing, just for laughs)_

_Dedicated to Wolfprincessgirl._

_Challenge: Completely AU story._

_Warning: I have no idea... Some murder, but no gory death scenes. Less serious. As in, barely serious at all._

It was quiet, the sort of quiet that you think of when you imagine being in the middle of the woods at midnight, and all of a sudden someone hits the metaphorical "mute button". Strangely enough, that was also the time and setting of the moment, but that's just detail.

It was the perfect place for the perfect murder.

Footsteps, sounding quickly and reverberating through the trees could be heard. There were two pairs of legs: one running, the other floating just inches above the ground. One was gasping for air as he ran, the other was cackling silently as he approached his prey.

There was the sound of a swoop through the air, then a horrible scream.

* * *

><p>"<em>Another terrible tragedy has occurred here, this time concerning an unidentified man," the newslady on TV said. She was wearing an expensive-looking coat despite the fact that it was boiling outside, but that was because she worked with the news, and they always liked to show off their costly clothes and accessories. Her name, Clara Chatham, appeared below her on the screen. <em>

"_The man is said to have similar injuries as some before him, and experts are beginning to think this is the work of a serial killer," she continued, brushing a strand of blue hair away from her eyes and ignoring the sarcastic,"No duh" and, "Really? Gosh, I had no idea!" comments coming from close-by people._

_Walking over to a quieter area, Clara resumed her report. "The signs of attack are, as usual, minimal except for a few holes in the neck area, and the victim being drained of blood. Authorities are consulting civilians to stay at home after dark and to travel in groups of at least three. Hopefully the killer will be caught soon. Back to you, Armin."_

* * *

><p>The small brown Wocky switched off the TV and faced his boss. "Brynn? What do we do?"<p>

The general chief of police, Brynn, sighed and put down her mug of coffee. "This has been getting way out of hand, Timmy," she replied. "We might need to call for some... _professional help._" She said the last two words with distaste. She could imagine the news reports now, with that Clara Chatham telling everyone that the police had resorted to asking for extra help. How bad would that make them look?

She had gotten Timmy's full attention. "Really? Who are we going to see?" he asked excitedly.

Brynn smiled. "Calm down there, rookie. Who said anything about you going?"

Timmy's face fell. "Oh," he mumbled.

Brynn reached out and patted the younger officer on the shoulder. "Hey, listen, this isn't like one of those mystery murder cases that you read in those story books. People could die just by trying to find the culprit, and you've got your whole career ahead of you. Sometime in the future there's going to be a new murder case, and you'll be the one to take the reigns, okay?"

Timmy seemed to brighten a bit at that. He was an eager new recruit who wanted to be the best he could be. Brynn had been like that when she was a few years younger, and now here she was, the chief of police.

And she needed professional help. Oh Fyora...

* * *

><p>The Golden Dubloon. A place for the brave and daring to gather and share stories of great, and maybe some not-so-great, deeds. And of course, it was where you could be sure to find Hannah the Brave.<p>

After her increased fame regarding many treasure heists in caves around the world, Hannah had remodeled her image... twenty times. In fact, there were times when people didn't even recognise the famous Usul, mostly because she switched up her appearance every other week. And it wasn't only her appearance, oh no, she also tried new personalities out, going from sweet to edgy, from intelligent to carefree. She was currently trying out the "BAMF with no respect for anyone" style. Gone was the green dress, instead she opted for a load of black, gloves, boots, a thick jacket, sunglasses and a spiked choker. She was showing off, as per usual, but this time in a more "BAMF with no respect for anyone" sort of way.

But no matter what personality she had chosen for herself, the stories were always the same. The other people at the restaurant/bar had grown bored of Hannah's stories a long time ago, and frankly only paid attention to her to see what new look she was trying. Some people even placed bets on what she would choose next. So naturally, when a new girl walked in, dressed in the navy-blue attire of a cop, people's attention shifted.

And no, Hannah was not happy about that. Luckily, the newcomer asked to speak with her, so Hannah let all bad thoughts be gone somewhere in the back of her mind.

The cop was a Kougra named Brynn, and she needed help to find out what was going on with the recent strange murders.

"You had me at the word 'murder'," Hannah made a cocky smirk, flicking some of her long brown hair over her shoulder. "Nothing says 'adventure' like a f***ing murder."

There's another thing. Hannah swears.

Brynn shifted uncomfortably in her seat for two reasons. One, because she wasn't sure if calling on Hannah was the right thing to do, and she wasn't even sure if Hannah would keep quiet about the help she'd be giving. The other reason was because the seat's cushion was as hard as a rock. "Do you know anyone who can help identify the murderer?" she asked.

Hannah shrugged. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't," she said, holding out a hand, indicating that she wanted payment.

Brynn wasn't moved. "Oh that's a shame," she replied. "I thought you were looking for adventure. I guess I misjudged you. Goodbye." And with that Brynn lifted herself up from her seat.

"Wait just a second!" Hannah snapped. Brynn looked coolly back at her. "I've been on more f***ing adventures than you could count, and some of them would make you p*** yourself at night. Are you saying that I'm not up for it?"

Brynn didn't break eye contact for a second. "I've heard of all of your adventures, Hannah. In fact, I'm sure everyone in this room has. I just thought that maybe you would have wanted a new one to tell."

Hannah slammed her hands against the table and stood up. "Hey! I don't need to take that s*** from you!" she yelled before standing up on the table and addressing the entire restaurant/bar. "Has everyone here heard of my adventures?"

Everyone's hand went up. Even the janitor's. Hannah knew that she was beaten, but she wouldn't let Brynn know that. Jumping down from the table, she said, "You're in luck. I just happen to have a free schedule this week and nothing to do. I might as well join your little investigation, but I do expect payment."

Brynn knew that Hannah would tag along even if she didn't pay, so after a while of pleas, threats and complaints, Brynn and Hannah came to an agreement: Hannah would join, and Brynn would pay a minimal fee at the end if all was successful.

Yes, it does seem like Brynn got the upper hand in this argument despite Hannah being a BAMF with no respect for anyone, doesn't it?

* * *

><p>"The place is just through these woods," Hannah informed Brynn, pointing lazily through the trees.<p>

"Why are we walking in a small group in the place where all the murders were committed?" Brynn asked a little uneasily.

Hannah raised an eyebrow. "Scared Brynn?" she taunted.

"Nervous," Brynn replied truthfully.

They were off to see the Swamp Witch, tho one who was rumoured to have turned several trespassers into Morthogs in the blink of an eye and was merciless to any pleas. And, for some reason, her name was Sophie...

She lived in a hut right smack in the middle of the woods where the murders were committed, but Brynn already said that.

In a random time-skip that was featured a lot in _The Faerie's Ruin_, Brynn and Hannah found themselves at Sophie's door.

Brynn looked expectantly at Hannah, who was cleaning her teeth with a toothpick.

"What?" the Usul asked. "Is it the pick? Yeah, it's my new thing."

Brynn facepalmed, because that's her thing. "Aren't you going to knock on the door?" she asked, her voice muffled a little by her hand.

Hannah snorted. "B****, please. This is your investigation, so why don't you risk your own pretty little neck?"

Brynn removed her face from her palm. "I've never met Sophie. You have. I'm pretty sure we can both agree that if you asked for help, she'd be more likely to respond to you."

Hannah laughed. "All the more reason to watch you fail."

Brynn narrowed her eyes in frustration. "Do you want to get paid or not?" she demanded.

Hannah, shocked, dropped her toothpick, which led to an impressive array of swearing from the Usul and a whole lot of facepalming from the Kougra. They were so wrapped up in their own little worlds that they didn't notice the door open.

"The f*** are you doing here?" the voice asked dryly. Brynn and Hannah froze.

Sophie was a green Ixi, with very long hair and a not-so-friendly expression. She wore patched clothing and a large hat.

Hannah laughed a little nervously, before remembering her current choice of personality and standing a little taller. "What's up, Soph?"

"Answer my f***ing question." Obviously, Sophie wasn't in the mood for small talk.

Brynn decided to take matters into her own hands. "Listen, you're probably not too happy about us dropping by-"

Sophie snorted. "Really? What gave you that idea?" she said sarcastically.

Brynn continued. "But we need your help identifying the culprit of the murders-"

"I'm in." Sophie nodded and went inside. "I have to get some things first."

Hannah blinked. "Wow. That was easy." Hannah opened her jacket and pulled out another toothpick.

"You can say that again," Brynn agreed. It was kinda surprising, yet at the same time, it wasn't. Sophie investigating murders wasn't _that_ hard to imagine.

* * *

><p>The head of the forensics lab, a Kyrii named Jazan, approached the group. "About time," he said gruffly.<p>

Hannah rolled her eyes. "Just show us the d*** bodies."

Jazan, as we all know, no matter which messed up universe he is put in, wasn't going to take that from Hannah. Unless of course he was in a universe in which he never gets angry, but that would make him OOC. And OOC Jazan has been done _way_ too many times...

Brynn, being the chief of police, decided to step in before her aid and the head of forensics added two more murders to the list. "Sorry, Jazan, we had a little mix-up in our directions," she apologised before sending a warning stare at Hannah. Hannah didn't notice, she was too busy trying to intimidate anyone who walked past her. Sophie didn't even need to try to scare anyone, people just steered clear of her on sight.

Jazan led them to the back of the lab building, the place where they kept the bodies. He walked over to a group of three tables covered in cloth, and pulled them back, one by one.

The bodies were all still whole, with no signs of deterioration. They might have still been alive, maybe frozen in time. You couldn't say they were sleeping, unless sleeping with your eyes wide open and your face twisted in an expression on horror is normal for you.

Sophie took one look at them and grunted. "Vampire. Classic." Opening her bag, she took out a few vials of unknown liquids and powders, muttering to herself.

"Can you figure out who did this?" Brynn asked nervously.

"Of course I can." Sophie looked up dramatically, and conjured up a small breeze with her powers, despite the fact that they were all indoors. Then she stopped and went back to her potion with Brynn watching anxiously.

Jazan and Hannah were talking. Well, not exactly _talking_...

"What's with the toothpick?" Jazan demanded.

Hannah shrugged. "It's my thing."

"Well, your 'thing' is unsanitary and not allowed in this department. Throw it out."

"How about not?"

"If you get one little piece of food from your disgusting teeth on these bodies, do you know how much contamination that can cause?"

"If you shut your trap, do you know happy everyone will be?"

"B****."

"A**."

Brynn had had enough. "Can we go for five minutes without someone swearing?" she yelled, even though the text wasn't capitalized.

For five minutes, everything was silent. Then Hannah asked, "Now can we swear?"

"No."

Five minutes later, Hannah asked again. "I SAID NO FOR F***'S SAKE!" Brynn exploded.

"Hypocrite!" Hannah pointed at Brynn. "Hypocrite!"

"Shut up _shut up_ SHUT UP!" Jazan roared.

"I'm done." Everyone looked over at the Swamp Witch who was eying them all tiredly. She held up the potion and went over to one of the victims. Taking one of the cotton swabs laying on a table next to her, she dipped it into the potion and dabbed a little on the neck of said victim. A little puff of smoke rose from his neck, and a clear liquid dripped from the holes in his neck. Sophie got out another vial and caught the liquid in it before adding a pinch of something to it, stoppering it and shaking it to mix everything together. The liquid turned a dark blue.

"Nox," Sophie stated, pouring the liquid down a drain. When no one replied, she sighed and faced them all. "Nox," she said again, a little louder.

"Nox?" Hannah asked.

"Nox..." Brynn mused.

Jazan remained silent.

Sophie rubbed her temples. "Hubrid Nox is the person who killed these people," she said slowly and clearly.

"Who the f*** is Hubrid Nox?" Hannah asked the question that was on everyone's mind. No one had a clue, not even Sophie, who as it turns out, only identified him instead of actually knowing who he was.

"Well, ain't this just f***ing fantastic," Hannah said sarcastically.

Jazan looked thoughtful. "You know," he said, "My wife works in an archive decoding texts from old scrolls and stuff like that. She might be able to tell you a thing or two about Nox."

Hannah looked at him in surprise. "Seriously? You're married? I feel sorry for her..."

Jazan sent a superior look at Hannah. "What's wrong?" he taunted. "Still single?"

Hannah opened her mouth to respond, but Brynn cut across her, therefore preventing us from ever knowing if Hannah is still single or not. Too bad.

"Where can we find her?" Brynn asked.

* * *

><p>"This is the place," Sophie confirmed.<p>

They were standing in front of an old library with giant oak doors. Hannah strode up to them and knocked several times with her fist.

A few minutes later, a pink Ixi opened the door.

"Nabile?" Brynn questioned. The Ixi nodded. "Jazan sent us here so we can find out more about Hubrid Nox."

Nabile motioned for them to come inside. Hannah, Sophie and Brynn walked through the immense building, decorated with shiny wood window frames and banisters, crystal chandeliers and rows upon rows of books. Nabile mumbled to herself as she ran her finger over the spines of many books before settling on a large burgundy one. "Here we go," she said, setting it down on the table and flipping through the index. "Nox... Page 133." She turned a few more pages before showing the small biography on Nox.

* * *

><p><em>Hubrid Nox<em>

_No one is sure when he was born, nor do they know when he died. As he lived, Nox was a secretive Chia without any desire for interaction, keeping himself locked in his castle. Therefore, when he disappeared, no one really noticed when. However, Nox was reported to be seen in the woods at night. Most assume that he is a vampire, and these theories are almost proven by the fact that Nox has managed to stay around for over five hundred years. This is, of course, an estimation. Some groups have been formed to hunt down Nox and find out, the most notorious of which being the team of Magax and Xandra, vampire hunting team extraordinaire. _

_Nox enjoys crystal balls and his mustache, and hates people._

* * *

><p>"Well, there's our answer." No one really expected this to come from Hannah, but it did. The explorer grinned and pointed at the page. "We just need to find Magax and Xandra, then Nox is history!"<p>

"But how do we find them?" Brynn asked.

"I think I can help you with that," Nabile spoke up again, closing the book. "I used to be a thief, so I know a few people who've been around. Someone's bound to know where they are."

"About time something worked out," Sophie grunted.

"But," Nabile continued. "We have to go in thief attire, or we'll be kicked out faster than a bunch of girls fighting in Usukicon. Especially you." She pointed at Brynn. "Cops are particularly frowned upon."

* * *

><p>Nabile, leading the pack was dressed in a pink outfit with loose sleeves made of a see-through material. Hannah followed, still dressed in her "BAMF with no respect for anyone" outfit, which Nabile had deemed passable. Sophie came next in a brown dress and fingerless gloves, with her hair pulled back into a braid. Brynn brought up the rear, wearing a long forest green cloak that covered her entire body.<p>

Nabile led them through the town, walking toward a sinister building with the blinds closed tightly.

"It looks empty," Brynn noted.

"It may look empty, but don't let that fool you," Nabile informed her, opening the door and pushing them through.

It was true. Inside, every corner was filled with thieves bartering and sharing tips. One of the tables near the middle of the room sat two figures.

"There," Nabile said, pointing at them and walking over.

The people in question were a blue Gelert and a blue Ixi. As Nabile approached them, they stopped talking. The Ixi grinned while the Gelert remained impassive.

"These people need your help," Nabile told them. The girls stepped forward, or at least Sophie did. Hannah and Brynn kinda tripped and stared.

"Kanrik?"

"Hanso?"

Sophie glanced around. "I guess you all know each other?"

Hannah smirked. "I see you haven't heard about all my adventures yet."

"But the rest of us have," the newest Ixi commented before turning to Brynn. "Long time no see."

Brynn facepalmed. "Why did I have to run into you?"

"I'm missing something here," Nabile said.

Brynn dropped her hand and explained, "I've caught Hanso stealing many times in the past. He's stopped recently, but I guess he's back in the area."

Hanso grinned again. "You bet."

"This is all very nice," Kanrik cut in, "But don't you have something to ask us?"

"H*** yeah we do!" Hannah disregarded the chairs and sat on the table. "We need a favor."

Kanrik and Hanso glanced at each other. "You need our help?" Kanrik asked.

"Yep," Sophie grunted.

Hanso grinned once again. "How might we be of service?"

* * *

><p>One explanation later, Hanso and Kanrik had given them specific instructions on what to do, after they had been paid, of course. Brynn, being a cop, decided to not be present while the money was being exchanged. It would be bad enough if the media got wind of her working with Hannah, but add thieves into the mix, and she'd never be able to show her face in public again.<p>

Hannah, Sophie and Nabile went back outside holding a few pieces of paper. They went back to Nabile's library to change and go over what they had gotten.

"So, they wrote something about a band of pirates who know where Xandra and Magax are," Sophie informed them. Brynn groaned. Hannah, a witch, thieves, vampire hunters and now pirates too? Brynn needed a vacation after this was over.

"This a meeting place and a time," Nabile said, holding up another paper before putting it down and picking up another. "And this is signed by Kanrik himself. Show this to the pirates and they'll take you."

"Awesome," Hannah cheered. "More adventure!"

Brynn was just about finished with adventure. Sophie was indifferent, as usual. Hannah was picking her teeth with her toothpick again. They were one of the strangest bunches Nabile had ever seen.

The clocks around the library chimed eleven o'clock, and right about then everyone in the group noticed how tired they were.

"You can stay the night," Nabile said while trying to stifle a yawn. "Tomorrow morning I can take you to the meeting place with the pirates, but then you're on your own."

"You're not coming with us?" Brynn needed clarification.

"I'm afraid not," Nabile responded. "Someone needs to look after this place. Besides, I've already had plenty of adventures myself."

Hannah turned sharply. "Really? Like what?" It was obvious that Hannah wanted to compare feats with Nabile, but the Ixi shook her head.

"Some other time," she told Hannah. Nabile then led them all to spare rooms below the library and they all tried to go to sleep.

* * *

><p>Brynn had a few minutes of fitful rest before waking up and not being able to go back to sleep. She was worried about joining forces with all these unsavory characters, so much so that her mind wasn't at ease and sleep wouldn't come. <em>So this is what insomnia is like...<em>

Hannah didn't bother to try to sleep. She was too excited for the adventure certain to happen, and she'd have a new story to boast about. She spent the night planning her return after they had killed Nox.

Sophie slept well enough. Being a witch, it was simple enough to cast a sleeping spell if she ever needed one, which she rarely did. And being the indifferent, blunt one in the group, she didn't have much on her mind.

Nabile slept soundly, for the simple reason that she was tired and needed sleep to function, like most people.

* * *

><p>"The wharf is up ahead," Nabile informed the small group.<p>

The morning had been almost uneventful. After waking up, or attempting to do so, breakfast was hurried, and the most interesting thing to happen was Hannah talking too loudly and Sophie sending a blast of lightning her way. That successfully shut Hannah up for a good fifteen minutes, a feat which was applauded by and appreciated by Brynn.

Nevertheless, Nabile was guiding them to the wharf where they were to meet up with the pirates who would help them find Nox's assassination team. It was an old, decrepit place with rickety piers and slimy grey waters, and yet somehow managed to serve as a good enough hiding place for pirates to load and unload stolen cargo. Brynn found herself wondering why no one ever thought of these sorts of places when trying to track down criminals. They were essentially hiding in plain sight. This embarrassed Brynn, knowing that the justice system was a little more simple-minded than she thought.

Nabile headed down one of the piers toward a small ship that seemed unoccupied. "It's that one," she told them, so the group knew more or less what to expect from going there.

Stopping in front of the ship, Nabile turned back to the three "adventurers" following her. "Do you have the instructions?"

"Yeah." Sophie held them out.

"And the signature?"

"Right here." It was Hannah's turn to hold out a paper.

Nabile smiled and nodded. "Then I guess this is where I leave you."

"What?" Brynn exclaimed. "You're leaving us here? Now?"

"Yeah, aren't you the one who's supposed to gain us favor because you're an ex-thief or some s*** like that?" Hannah demanded.

Nabile laughed. "I wish, but I have to get back to the books. The library won't run itself, you know. Good luck." And with that she left them.

"Well this sucks," Sophie commented.

"Yeah," Hannah affirmed. "So do we go on board or just stand here like a bunch of idiots?"

They went on board. As soon as Sophie put one foot on the boarding ramp, a voice rang out, "WHO'S ON THE SHIP?"

"I think we're not wanted here," Brynn said, and sure enough, the next thing they knew, an Usul darted out and held a dagger to Sophie's throat. Sophie, acting on instinct, sent a blast of magic his way that slammed him against the side of the ship.

"Sorry about my friend," a voice apologised. A Kyrii stepped out into view. "He's a bit... odd."

"It's fine," Brynn assured him. "He didn't hurt anyone."

"Speak for yourself," Sophie grumbled.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the Usul questioned forcefully. Sophie threw the pages of instructions at him, obviously still angry from his welcome. The Usul looked them over, stared at the three newcomers, looked at the Kyrii, looked back at the papers, examined the wood paneling of the ship and then looked back at the Kyrii. "They might have been sent by Kanrik."

The Kyrii looked unconvinced. "Do they have proof?"

Hannah waved the paper with Kanrik's signature on it in front of his face. "Read it and weep."

The Usul picked himself up and went to look at the paper along with his friend. They exchanged glances.

"Welcome aboard," the Kyrii said.

"Sorry for the terrible introduction," the Usul added on. "I'm Garin, the captain of this ship. And this is my first mate, Jacques." The Kyrii waved a hand, acknowledging the guests.

"I'm Hannah," Hannah declared. "That's Brynn and that's Sophie," she continued with a point at each person.

"Do you know where Xandra and Magax are?" Brynn had to make sure.

"They're on an island not too far away," Jacques informed them. "We can get you there by tomorrow."

"Can you get us back?" Sophie asked.

"Of course," Garin answered.

Brynn sighed in relief. At least one thing was going well today...

* * *

><p>"And then, when the beast wasn't looking, I grabbed the diamond and a stone, and I threw the stone at his head," Hannah was saying to Garin.<p>

"Oh yeah? Once I was fighting two pirates at the same time, and a third tried to attack me too, but I fought them all off," Garin replied.

Sophie and Jacques were watching the banter going back and forth between their friends. Brynn had retired to one of the ships rooms for a nap, since she had had so little sleep the night before.

"Sorry about Hannah," Sophie apologised. "You probably have enough problems with Garin."

"I don't know, I think it's good that he's talking to someone with his own sort of energy for once," Jacques replied.

"OH YEAH?"

"YEAH!"

"Even if it does get very loud," Jacques added on to his previous statement.

Sophie, having had enough of tales of feats, cast a muting spell on both Usuls. They both opened their mouths to yell at each other again, but no sound came out. Confused, they both kept trying to talk for a while before resorting to punching each other to establish their superiority.

"Why didn't you do that earlier?" Jacques asked Sophie.

"They weren't yelling earlier."

"Oh. Right."

* * *

><p>By the next morning, the ship had arrived, Brynn had her nap and Sophie reversed her spell. Unfortunately, this left them with a talkative and angry Hannah.<p>

"Why the f*** did you do that?" she kept yelling.

But we're not interested in Hannah right now. Right now we're interested in Xandra and Magax.

Finding them was simple enough. Garin and Jacques gave them a few directions, and before they knew it they were knocking on a door of a large cabin at the water's edge.

A speckled Xweetok with glasses answered the door. "What can I do for you?"

Sophie, always to the point, said, "We need you to kill Nox."

At the mention of Nox, the Xweetok pulled them all inside and shut the door, locking it tightly. "Magax!" she roared up the stairs. "Some visitors know where he is! They found Nox!"

Almost immediately it seemed, a scarred blue Wocky with yellow eyes zoomed down the stairs. His feet floated just a few inches off the ground before he landed with a quiet thud. Grabbing the nearest person (who happened to be Brynn) by the shoulders, he leaned his face in close and demanded, "Where?"

"Get off of me!" Brynn protested, shoving Magax away.

"Back in our town," Sophie replied to Magax. He and Xandra looked intently at Sophie. "We have a ride back, in case you're interested."

"Of course we are," Xandra affirmed briskly. She turned to Magax. "You know what to get."

They sped off in different directions, going back and forth while bringing items that piled up slowly at the feet of the three visitors.

Magax was bringing all sorts of weaponry, including some things that the others had never seen before, like a gun that shot a net, one that produced a beam of pure energy, and the piece de resistance, a sword that had a faint yellow glow which became more pronounced as Magax held it. His yellow eyes also glowed when he handled the sword.

Xandra, on the other hand, was bringing back a few books, whose titles were composed of strange symbols that no one else could decode, a few magic elixirs and artefacts, and two strange helmets. Made of metal and covering most of the face, save the eyes which were covered by a pair of goggles, they also had all sorts of lights and scopes attached to them.

"How the f*** are we going to bring all that with us?" Hannah asked in bewilderment.

Xandra simply snapped her fingers and a large square of cloth floated over. It surrounded the items and knotted itself before shrinking to a much more manageable size.

"Okay, let's go," Brynn suggested. She just wanted this ordeal to be over with.

"Wait a minute," Magax growled. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"

Hannah groaned. "I don't have time for this!" she screamed and walked out the front door.

"Ah, it's nice and quiet now," Sophie said contentedly.

"My colleague has a point," Xandra said. "How do we know you're trustworthy?"

"Because we just are?" Sophie suggested bluntly.

"Not helping, Sophie," Brynn pointed out in annoyance.

Magax pulled a knife from his belt and pointed it at both of them. "State your business!" he snarled.

"OH FOR S***'S SAKE!" Brynn temper finally was pushed to the boiling point. "WE JUST WANT TO GET RID OF NOX! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO F***ING ASK FOR?"

Everyone stared at her. Sophie cleared her throat. "What about a truth spell?"

Brynn's head snapped over to Sophie. "You mean you could have just cast a spell _this entire time?_" It was hard to say if Brynn was more incredulous or furious.

"Yeah." Sophie's simple answer didn't help the situation at all.

* * *

><p>One truth spell and avoided murder of Sophie later, Brynn, Sophie, Xandra and Magax all rejoined Hannah at the seashore. "Finally!" was her way of greeting, but that surprised no one.<p>

On the long ride back, Brynn just couldn't help but think about how dysfunctional their group was. There was Hannah, who was rude and ignorant; there was Sophie, who was less annoying than Hannah, but who had managed to almost cause Brynn to forget her status as chief of police and try to strangle her; there was Xandra and Magax, who spent their time alternating between reading, shooting targets (empty cans) and arguing with one another, or everyone else; there was Garin, who's boat expertise seemed to be the only thing he really knew anything about; finally, there was Jacques, who was the most normal one of the group, but regardless tried to get everyone to sing songs about sea travel, which was very annoying.

And once they reached the other end of the sea, they wouldn't even have Garin and Jacques anymore. And they were supposed to beat a vampire who committed a triple murder?

Brynn prayed to Fyora that at least _one_ of them would come out of this "adventure" alive. Preferably her.

* * *

><p>Many hours later, Brynn was amazed at how swimmingly their plan was going.<p>

Xandra and Magax, while reading, shooting and arguing, had managed to pull together a decent plan. When Hannah expressed her uncertainty ("Haven't you failed, like, every other time you've tried to catch this guy?"), Xandra admitted that their past failures had been caused by a lack of stealth and people. But now they had a plan, and three others to go with it.

So now, Brynn and Sophie were hidden a few meters away from the place where Nox would eventually run by, Sophie casting and maintaining a cloaking spell and Brynn handling the gun that shot the beam of energy ("A ray gun," Magax had told her) in her grip.

Xandra and Magax were hidden in some bushes closer to the spot here Nox would run by. Xandra had her magic and the net shooting gun, and Magax had his special sword. They were the main attackers. When Nox appeared, Xandra would shoot a net at him ("More for distraction than anything else," she explained), and she and Magax would attack him until he became weak. "And then," Xandra had instructed Brynn earlier, "And only then, you will shoot him with your ray gun. Once you do, Sophie, this means you, cast a shielding spell for you, Brynn and Hannah. I can take care of Magax and myself."

"But what if you're both unable to weaken him enough and he kills you or knocks you against a tree or something?" Sophie had asked.

"We gave Hannah something in case that happens," Xandra had said.

And what was Hannah doing? She was the bait for Nox.

"What? But why me?" she had complained.

"Because you're the only one expendable enough for this job," Magax had replied harshly.

Hannah, despite not knowing what 'expendable' meant, knew that it wasn't a compliment and she had stuck out her tongue at Magax. Even so, she was supposed to wait out in the woods until Nox decided to make her his next victim. In truth, Brynn thought that it was an excellent idea to use Hannah. Hannah was quick and agile, and an excellent tracker, so she would find her way to them easily before getting caught was even a possibility.

Waiting was a nightmare. Sophie was concentrating most of her energy in her cloaking spell, so there was nothing to distract Brynn from just sitting and waiting in silence for a vampire to come and try to kill them all.

Footsteps. Sophie heard them just after Brynn did, and from the gentle rustle of the bushes they could tell that Xandra and Magax had sensed them as well. A wicked cackle sounded out that sent frightened shivers down Brynn's spine. Her hands started trembling and sweating, so much so that she feared that she'd lose her gun. Her stomach was filled with nerves and her knees felt weak.

"What's wrong, ugly?" Hannah's voice was close. "Can't catch me?"

Another cackle answered, and Hannah darted out from behind a tree, Nox in hot pursuit.

The net appeared out of nowhere and tangled itself around Nox, who stopped in his flight. Brynn was stunned. Was it really that easy to catch Nox?

But then Nox became immaterial, the net fell from around him, and Brynn understood why Xandra had explained the net as a distraction. The few seconds Nox took to escape from the net was all it took for Xandra and Magax to leap out of their hiding place and attack the undead monster.

Hannah slipped beside Brynn and Sophie. Brynn, still cloaked by Sophie's spell, reached out and grabbed Hannah's hand for a second, letting her know that they were there. Once again luck seemed to be on their side and Hannah didn't yell out a long string of curse words in surprise.

Watching Nox, Magax and Xandra fight was certainly a spectacle to behold. Every time it looked like either Xandra or Magax would deliver the final blow, Nox would manage to resist, reminding them all the power of the undead. Magax and Xandra had gotten their fair share of wounds too. A cut on Xandra's shoulder was bleeding profusely, and it looked as if Magax would have a few more scars.

Xandra's magic would sometimes blind Nox, or confuse him, and Magax's sword seemed to have a strong connection to Magax himself. Either he gave it energy, or the other way around.

The battle raged on for a long time. Magax slashed his sword across Nox's leg, and the vampire howled in pain. A magic blast from Xandra went straight to his chest, but he still got back up and fought.

Sophie, still straining to keep her spell going, was wondering if it would ever stop. She gritted her teeth and kept her focus on her spell casting. If she failed, Nox would see Brynn with her ray gun and it would all be over.

"Let's finish this!" Magax snarled, swinging his sword upward and charging in Nox's direction. As he brought down the blade, aiming for Nox's skull, Nox became immaterial once more, and the force in which Magax had swung his sword caused it to take root deep into the ground. Nox, re-materializing, struck Magax across the face and the Wocky fell over, cutting his leg on his sword.

"Magax!" Xandra exclaimed in horror. Nox took her moment of distraction to strike her as well, so both hunters were sprawled dazed on the forest floor.

Brynn's stomach sank. _Oh no..._ She fumbled with her gun again, fearing that they would all die. Her fear was justified when Nox bent down his head to bite at Xandra's throat.

Hannah stood up suddenly, and Brynn remembered that Xandra had given her something in case of an emergency like this. "Hey leechman!" she hollered over to Nox.

Nox had apparently forgotten his earlier pursuit of Hannah. Deeming Xandra and Magax weak enough to leave, he decided that having a third victim would make his night complete. He rose up high and flew toward Hannah in a streamline.

Hannah took one of Xandra's potion bottles out and uncorked it, pointing it at Nox. Suddenly, a beam of light, of unfiltered sunlight too strong for most eyes, was shot at Nox. Nox twitched and screamed in pain as the light hit him, and he lost his ability to fly. He dropped to the ground in a fit of spasms, groaning in anguish.

"Now Brynn!" Hannah yelled.

Sophie ended her spell and collapsed from mental and physical exhaustion, coming from keeping up such a spell for so long. Brynn steeled her nerves and took hold of the gun, aiming it at Nox. All her shooting lessons as a rookie came flooding back to her, and she pulled the trigger.

Immediately, a bright red beam of energy exploded from the tip of the gun and hit Nox square in the face. Nox let out a scream, more terrible and pained than the one from Hannah's blast. It was so awful to hear that Brynn almost felt pity for Nox, who's face was becoming the same red as the beam as the deadly energy flowed through his arms and legs until he was as red as a tomato. Then, the energy became too much and Nox burst into flames, igniting a few nearby trees. Sophie, remembering her earlier instructions, summoned enough energy to shield all five of the ambushers from the flames. Nox's body jerked a few times, and then he stopped moving. The flames continued to devour the undead who died again, and as they slowly went out, the five others saw that his body had disintegrated.

Xandra shakily got to her feet, and drank a potion that appeared to revive her. She helped Magax and Sophie up too, and everyone got some of the potion. "It's over," Xandra said in relief. "He's gone for good. Once the body's been turned to ash, there's no going back."

"So that's it? The adventure's over?" Hannah, of course, sounded disappointed.

"I'm sure you'll find plenty others," Xandra consoled her.

"The question is if she'll find them or if they'll find her," Magax muttered, earning a chuckle from Sophie.

"And what about you two? What are you going to do now that Nox is dead?" Brynn asked.

"There's going be another vampire attack sooner or later," Xandra replied confidently. "And when there is, we'll be there."

After Brynn called some of the guys down at the police station, Hannah had been paid and all their goodbyes had been said, everyone returned home.

* * *

><p>Brynn was back in her office. She had learned through Jazan that Nabile was still working at her library, and that the Ixi kept in touch with Sophie, who went back to the old isolation of her home in the swamp.<p>

Xandra had been right; another town on the opposite end of the world had gotten attacked by a vampire. She and Magax had left at a moment's notice, telling the mayor of that town to put together a team of fearless people who would aid them in their battle.

Hannah had switched personalities yet again, this time being a humble, shy girl with some interesting stories to tell. Her version of the battle was a new favorite among the people at the bar.

Garin, Jacques, Hanso and Kanrik were all busy being thieves and pirates.

And Brynn? Well, she never wanted to do another case like that again. She'd send Timmy next time. He needed the experience, anyway.

* * *

><p><em>Echo Note: Not as good as the last one. Sorry. *shame*<em> _Well, this was still something interesting to write._

_To YtelAlil: Of course I can! Altador and TDF will be the next story here._

_Don't forget to send me requests! Even if you've already requested something, I'm fine with multiples. But, if I could make one request to you, please make your challenges a little less vague. Maybe suggest a little more of the plot to me? Because I only have so many original (or not so original) ideas._

_P.S., according to my poll, Niki appears to be my most popular OC. If I wrote her backstory, would anyone be interested in reading it?_


	5. The Darkness Within

The Darkness Within

_Rating: K+_

_Dedicated to YtelAlil_

_Challenge: Something about Altador and the Darkest Faerie._

_Warning: More philosophy... My attempt at something romancey without Shadow's help... It's long, again..._

Six elements have always existed throughout time, since the beginning of Neopia, and will until everything ends. These six elements represent life in its purest form, and the idea that nothing can exist without its opposite. Fire's warmth and destruction is balanced by water's coldness and soothing nature; air is free, uncaring and wild, and evened out by earth, solid and grounded; and perhaps the most ancient battle of all, light and dark. Every light makes a shadow, and darkness is always permeated by the smallest little flicker of light.

With all six, balance is made. And with that balance came life.

The history of Neopia is very confusing, and no one knows exactly how it starts. The earliest anyone knows of it was when Dr. Frank Sloth first discovered the planet and the strange beings that inhabited it. But the most popular guess is that once balance between the elements had been made, life came from the elements themselves.

Little winged beings emerged from their own element, each element allowing the same number. These winged beings harnessed the power of their element, and put this power to good use. One day, from the union of six of these winged creatures, one from each element, something new was made. An example of perfect harmony, and more powerful than anything they had beheld.

There are disputes over just what this newest thing was. What, people wondered, could come from all elements put together, if life already existed? One of the most common opinions was love, but many disagree. Love has an opposite, so if it was love that was created, hate and indifference would have to have been created at the same time.

At one point, somebody came up with a new idea of what had been made that day, so long ago, and it made sense. Love stayed the most common idea, but more and more people believed that it was something else entirely.

It was knowledge that was created by the harmony of the elements. Since the winged beings had lived without knowledge for the longest time, it made sense that knowledge's opposite, ignorance, existed already.

And from that knowledge came another being, more beautiful and powerful that the others. "I am Fyora," she had said. "Let me teach you the ways of living."

And so she did. Fyora taught the creatures how to talk, how to grow. She gave them all the chance to name themselves, and to bestow blessings upon the other creatures that lived upon the planet.

The winged beings grew to a bigger size, and called themselves faeries. Fyora was their queen.

The other creatures were neopets, with a great number of diverse species. Together, linked by elements and knowledge, Neopia became civilized, with everyone living together as best as they could.

Disputes erupted, of course, since peace is an impossibility. There would never be a utopia for as long as there was life. Like the split between elements, one thing could not exist without its opposite.

One faerie in particular knew this better than any other, with the exception of Fyora, of course. She was a dark faerie, giving her a bad reputation from the start. She would have liked to be the exception, the one dark faerie with a good heart and kind nature. She wanted to love and to be loved, but in the end, everything fell apart.

She tried too hard to banish the darkness from herself, that it came back tenfold and corrupted her mind and heart. She became the most wicked being in the existence of Neopia, so terrible that her name had been erased from history, never to be used again. She became known solely as the Darkest Faerie.

* * *

><p>A simple farmland, with fields for growing produce and raising Baabaas. Quiet and rather dull, this was the place where a Lupe named Altador lived. He had never been very interested in farming, preferring to take his crossbow out to the forest and hunt underneath the trees. He took his studies very seriously, and always found time to take out a book and read, even if it was the middle of the night.<p>

When he was growing up, his village had several cruel and greedy leaders, which ultimately ran the village into ruins and the population escaped while they could. As the village was being rebuilt into a simple land for farming, Altador wished that he might create a city of his own and rule over it with many other kindhearted and wise leaders.

When Altador had reached a good age, his home was attacked during the night by a terrible beast. No one had seen it in the daylight, but children made stories about how it was large and hairy, with two giant black eyes that paralyzed you before it ate you. In the midst of the town's panic, Altador the hunter offered to slay the beast to save his homeland. He was heartily thanked by the townspeople, and was promised many prizes and tokens of appreciation if he was successful.

The following day, Altador set off to the mountains, where he found the beast's lair in a cave at the base of one of the mountains. The beast left shreds of fur here and there, and footprints leading inside. Fearlessly, Altador took his crossbow from his shoulder and loaded it with an arrow. He sneaked inside, his feet moving soundlessly against the dirt floors. His keen eyes were used to seeing in near darkness, from having stayed up late into the night reading without a light on. Therefore, when he saw the beast, he aimed his jump in front of it so that the beast would run into a close by wall of the cave. The beast roared, a futile attempt to scare the hunter away, but Altador was unfazed. His arm raised his crossbow, and his aim was true. The arrow pierced the beast's head, killing it instantly.

As the beast let out a final weak roar and fell to the ground, Altador didn't notice another one of its kind approaching him silently from behind. The beast's mate.

Altador turned around just a little too late, and the second beast snarled and jumped out at him. The Lupe braced himself, expecting death, until a purple blast knocked the second beast from the side and slammed it into the side of the cave, crushing its spine and killing it.

Altador looked around for his savior. A figure in the dark was a few feet away from him, hands still glowing a faint purple colour. It was a dark faerie.

"Thank you," Altador acknowledged her gratefully. He hadn't expected such bravery and help from a dark faerie, as they were known to be wicked creatures, but Altador knew that exceptions were made from time to time.

"It was a terrible thing," the faerie answered. "If you hadn't killed the first, I would have."

"Then you are the true hero of my homeland," Altador told her. He was deeply indebted to her for saving his life, and she deserved to be credited for her actions that day.

"Me? I am no hero." She sighed, and it was one of the saddest sounds Altador had heard.

"You saved my life," Altador pointed out, "and you saved my home from the second beast. Please, you must come with me to my village. If we bring the heads of the beasts with us, we will be welcomed as heroes. There will be feasting and a great celebration, and it's the least I can do to thank you. Please, won't you come with me?"

The faerie was taken aback by the kindness the Lupe showed her, and readily agreed. They each carried the head of one of the beasts outside, and saw everything much more clearly in the daylight.

The faerie saw a white Lupe, still rather young and strong, but whose face showed a wisdom that was missing in most neopets she had met. He wore simple clothes, nothing too extravagant for a hunter, and slung his crossbow over his right shoulder. He was one of the most humble looking people she had met, but seemed to be much more extraordinary than he appeared.

Altador saw a dark faerie unlike the other he had seen before. The other dark faeries all seemed to have the same short dark hair, small wings and disgusted facial expression. This faerie's hair was longer and a lighter purple. Her wings were large and elegant. She had a nice face, friendly with a mischievous undertone.

They both carried the head of a great scaled beast. The rumours of it being hairy were false, but the village children were right about its size and its black, mesmerizing eyes. The heads were heavy and the path was long, so in the end Altador found himself dragging the head along. The faerie was still carrying it over her shoulder with the greatest ease.

"I never thought that it'd be so heavy," Altador noted. "You must be very strong."

She smiled at him, but her smile wasn't dark and evil like the smiles of the other dark faeries. It was warm and friendly, and it lit up her face in an extraordinarily beautiful way. Altador was stunned for only a second, but he was still having some difficulty with his head.

"I'm feeling a bit tired. Do you mind if we stop for a rest?" the faerie asked him. This was a lie, but she was lying for the Lupe's benefit.

He happily agreed, and they sat down on the side of the road, away from the terrifying beast heads. They talked a little bit about themselves, like how Altador was a hunter and that the faerie enjoyed traveling to different places and comparing them. She liked the farmland, since it was quiet and serene, unlike the busy cities she had found elsewhere.

But during all their talking, she never told Altador her name. When he asked, she grimaced and shook her head. Altador didn't push the subject any further.

The farmers in his town were wary of the sight of the faerie at first, but when she walked in with a beast's head like Altador had, they welcomed her with open arms. The celebration lasted for days, in which they ate the best of the harvest and observed some of the best entertainment the little village had to offer.

During this celebration, Altador came to understand how unusual it would be to have a dark faerie on his side. She was powerful as many faeries were, but her dark powers were something that not many friendly faeries had. As the celebration came to an end, Altador ran an idea past her.

For years, Altador had planned on founding a city of culture and knowledge. He had found a location on one of his hunting expeditions, and wanted to settle it there. He would have to build the city from scratch, but he was determined to make it happen. He had already asked some other quasi-legendary people to be fellow founders, and many had agreed. He wanted the dark faerie to also be one of those founders.

The faerie was stunned by his offer. She was used to traveling the world and seeing new places, and had never had a legitimate home. But now she could create a home for herself, and create an image of herself that she had always dreamed of. A dark faerie with a light side to her. She accepted his offer gladly.

The next day, everyone in the village was exhausted from the celebration, but none so much as the dark faerie. She managed to stay asleep for two days and three nights before finally awaking. Altador made a small joke about it, calling her, "The Sleeper." Since he had no other name to call her, the name stuck.

* * *

><p>Sleeper had a real name, as all faeries did, but she kept it to herself. She wasn't ashamed of it, but it was hers. It was hers and it belonged to no one else. She treated her name as if it was a priceless possession, and in the end, only she and Fyora knew her name. It was a part of herself that she wanted to keep hidden, just like her obvious dark powers.<p>

But sometimes, late at night when she wasn't asleep, she would whisper it to herself over and over again. A small comfort.

* * *

><p>"There it is," Altador said, waving an arm in a gesture toward the lush plains and meadows of the seaside area that would later become his city. Behind him were eleven others, all called together with recognition for their generous and selfless deeds. Heroes of war, of agriculture and of art, just to name a few, would guarantee the new kingdom to be a great example of harmony of the building blocks of society. The city, the symbol of their union, would be destined for greatness.<p>

It was impressive how their situation paralleled that of the elements and life, but no one noticed this.

As the building began, more and more people from all over Neopia came to help create this masterpiece of a city. The construction took many months of working from sunrise to sunset with very few breaks. Often, the Sleeper would offer to use her powers to help speed up the building, but Altador would refuse. He believed that the city would be much more appreciated if it was created by hand, instead of by magic. Sleeper was not pleased by his words, but she would always follow his orders.

Time passed, the kingdom was created, and the rulers found themselves in their first council meeting. The first item on their agenda was to name the new kingdom, so Altador held a voting for a name.

In the end, everyone except for the Lupe himself chose Altador as the best name for their kingdom, and Altador it became.

Years passed, and the kingdom became one of the greatest in the world. The Sleeper would often think of all the other kingdoms under tyrannic rule and would beg Altador to send Torakor to take them over so they too would know the fair rule of their kingdom, but Altador would always refuse. Their army was not to attack and conquer.

Sleeper hated having her opinions turned down, but she trusted the Lupe's judgment. She resigned herself to walking in the shadows of all the other founders of Altador. She had no special place among them, nor any area of expertise. She would often find herself batting jealousy for Siyana, the light faerie revered for her gifts of longevity and sunlight. What was she but a kind dark faerie that not many trusted?

* * *

><p>Altador was the city of legends, the place people aspired to live in. The city grew to accommodate all these people moving in, and soon there were several marketplaces, shops and fields, as well as a wharf to send ships off for trade.<p>

Sleeper would often fly high above the city she helped found and watched its progress like a mother would to a child. She wanted nothing but the best for everyone who had accepted her and welcomed her as one of the rulers, even if she did feel overshadowed by all the others.

But she wasn't recognised as the true protector. No, she had Jerdana to thank for that. Jerdana was the Protector, whereas she was only the Sleeper. That was the only thing darkness was ever good for.

She tried to ignore the envious ideas that came to her to sabotage the other rulers. She was a good dark faerie, and no matter how much it pained her, she couldn't claim the city as her own, nor the title of Protector. She must remain the Sleeper. She must...

It tired her. Being a dark faerie, it meant that she had natural thoughts of misdeeds and evil, but she always could brush them away. Her self-control was astounding.

But they would always come back, more intense and more reckless than before. She hoped that she would never succumb to them.

* * *

><p>Council meetings. Always held in the late afternoon when the sun was its hottest, and always so... dull. Sleeper had to work hard to not live up to her name in these meetings, but there were times when she had a question or opinion that she felt needed to be voiced. Sometimes her ideas were considered helpful and accepted. But there were also times like when she had suggested to help build the city with her magic or when she said that Torakor should go and take over tyrannic cities to convert them into the system of Altador. Rejection.<p>

But this particular council meeting was exceedingly boring. Sleeper listened to Gordos and Kelland argue over the spending of tax dollars while Fauna and Sacha tried to make peace. Jerdana was at her place beside Altador as his most trusted advisor. Sleeper felt as if this was unjust. Hadn't it been her who had saved the Lupe's life? Should he trust her judgment above all else? Instead she faced the most disapproval, in contrast to the fact that she had never seen Altador refuse one of Jerdana's ideas.

Sleeper felt fed up and tired, a dark stain on an otherwise perfect group. She was under-appreciated and ignored. At least, that's how she felt. Pessimistic, next to Siyana and Psellia's hopeful nature. Marak and Florin helped the lands, but what did she do? Even Kelland had taken the "bad guy gone good" persona, so what did that leave her with?

Maybe things would have been easier if she'd just been evil all along...

No! Those were exactly the sort of thoughts she had to fight away! She would never, ever, under any circumstance, betray or resort to being sinister and cruel.

The meeting broke up. Despite wanting to leave the council room badly, Sleeper was also rather comfortable sitting where she was. But the cruel thoughts were rising, coursing through her like poison in her bloodstream. She needed to leave and calm down. Now. If she ever lost control, she didn't want it to be here, in front of everyone.

She forced herself up, stretched out her wings and moved quickly to the window. Siyana and Psellia had already left by these means, and Sleeper was no exception. The faeries just preferred flying.

"Sleeper?" The voice made her pause.

"Yes?"

Altador walked up behind her. The others had left. They were alone. Suddenly, Sleeper wasn't so keen on leaving just yet.

"It's been a while since we last talked as friends," the Lupe noted. Sleeper turned around and faced her friend. It was true. Over the years, they were both so busy that they never had time to just sit and chat anymore. They exchanged at most hurried greetings and goodbyes, but they hadn't truly talked since the incident with the beasts at the bottom of the mountain.

They had grown older, she noticed sadly. Being a faerie, the age didn't show up as much as it would on any other being, but Altador was noticeably older. He had long since given up shaving his beard, so it was long and white, the same dull white as his fur. The beard just made him seem older than he really was.

"It has," she agreed quietly. "We have so few opportunities to speak to each other."

"If you aren't too busy, would you like to take a walk with me?" Altador offered.

Those words stirred up a contented feeling in the faerie. "Of course," she agreed, all thoughts of flying, windows and jealousy forgotten.

She followed Altador through the Hall of Heroes, and they talked. They talked about trade with other lands, they talked about upcoming festivals, they talked about themselves and how they were doing. They talked about the others, and Sleeper couldn't help but feel annoyed when Altador brought up Jerdana, but she tried her best to hide it.

"Yes," she agreed. "Jerdana is a very helpful asset, and a great protector."

_She isn't worth the dung underneath your feet,_ her mind screamed.

Altador smiled. "I'm glad you agree. If only Kelland and Gordos were more accepting of each other, as you are. I think you may be the only founder that doesn't complain about any of the others."

The faerie blinked in surprise. "Really? Even Fauna?"

Altador nodded gravely. "Fauna's had a few spats with Torakor, I'm sorry to say. Not many, but..." The Lupe sighed.

"But it's still creating tension," Sleeper finished for him.

"Indeed. But that's why I'm grateful to have you around, because you keep your head clear and keep us all together. Thank you."

Altador had no idea of the effect of his words on the dark faerie, who looked away, blushed gently, and said, "I disagree. I think that you are the one who keeps us together, not me. That's one of the reasons why the city was named after you, because you brought us all together."

There was a silence between the two of them. They stood back to back, looking sheepishly at the ground, not daring to say a word.

The silence wasn't broken until long after, when Sleeper commented on how it was getting late.

"Oh." Was it just her, or did Altador sound disappointed? "Well... I suppose I'll be seeing you again soon?"

"Yes," she replied hurriedly. "Tomorrow, at Council. I'll... be there."

"I'm sure you will. That's another thing about you, you never miss a meeting, and even I'll admit that they're very dull." Altador chuckled.

"Goodbye, Altador," Sleeper said, offering her hand to him. Immediately she felt stupid for such a strange gesture, but Altador didn't act as if it was at all strange. He took her hand and shook it.

"Goodbye, Sleeper."

* * *

><p>She was there the next day, just like she promised. She sat in the back, just as she normally did. She noticed Jerdana sitting next to Altador, in the position of trust, and felt jealousy, just as usual. But at the end of council, she lingered behind instead of running to the window again.<p>

She was rewarded with Altador asking whether she wanted to take a walk once more.

They kept each other company, their conversation was easy and effortless. They made a wonderful pair, sharing interests and remembering the beasts at the base of the mountain.

"Those heads weighed a ton," Altador said. "I still don't know how you managed."

The faerie shrugged. "I've always been able to lift a lot of weight."

"I really can't thank you enough for saving my life that day," Altador said.

The comment both pleased Sleeper and made her uncomfortable. "You gave me a place to call home. I can't thank you enough for that."

And once again they dwindled into silence, walking side by side and not looking at each other. Nighttime had fallen, but Sleeper still made no attempt to leave just yet. She didn't want her time with Altador to end.

But unfortunately, a messenger ran up and announced that Altador had an urgent note from a neighboring kingdom. The Lupe thanked the messenger, and bid Sleeper goodbye.

"Goodbye," she whispered as he walked away. She felt as if their time together had been incomplete, lacking in something. There was something else that needed to be said.

"Wait," she said suddenly. She was about to do something ridiculously stupid. She knew that she would regret it later, but at that moment...

"Yes?" He stopped in his tracks and turned to face her once again.

"Allynia," she said.

The Lupe appeared confused. "Excuse me? What was that?"

"Allynia," she said again. "My name... My name is Allynia." There. There it was. Her name. The one thing she kept sheltered. She had just given it away.

"Oh." Altador was stunned. For years, so many years, he had only known her as Sleeper. The fact that she would tell him her name just went to show how much she trusted him. He felt proud and privileged to have her trust. He smiled warmly at her. "Thank you. Goodnight, Allynia."

"Goodnight, Altador." She saw how pleased he had been that she had told him her name, her most precious secret. But even though she saw him smile, even though she had really made him happy, Allynia felt empty inside.

* * *

><p>Why? Why did she do it? Her name... Her name...<p>

Allynia whispered it to herself again, but it offered no more comfort, no more strength. The magic that her name had had was gone.

_That was foolish of you,_ her conscience told her. She brushed it away. She didn't need any poisonous thoughts.

_I thought you were stronger than that,_ the voice of her conscience said disapprovingly. _What reasons could you have for doing such a stupid thing?_

The thoughts attacker her, plagued her. It was as if her brain had split into two, and one side was harassing the other.

_You know what this means, don't you? You aren't safe anymore. If you can't even keep your best-kept secret, than what are you worth? He knows, now. You made yourself weak. And what for? Altador? He doesn't care for you, that's why Jerdana is his advisor, and why you're always turned down._

She couldn't handle it anymore. She needed to fix this mess she had made for herself.

* * *

><p>Flying back to the Hall of Heroes was simple and quick when you were blessed with night vision. <em>Go on,<em> the voice in her mind purred. _Fix this mess you got yourself into. This is why dark faeries can't be_ _good_. She ignored that last sentence.

Outside the Hall, she saw a light on through the window of Altador's study. He was still awake, and she needed to wait until he was asleep.

She glided to the window frame, and watched him read and reread the letter from the other kingdom. Time passed, until the door opened, and Jerdana walked in. Immediately, Allynia felt hurt and angry.

"Yes, Altador, you asked for me?" the pretty Aisha asked.

"Hello, Jerdana," Altador greeted. "Tell me, what do you think-"

Allynia didn't want to hear anymore. She flew away from the window, planning to come back later.

_You see? He doesn't care for you in the way you do for him. He didn't even think you could help him with whatever was happening elsewhere. He trusts Jerdana more, even after you gave him your name. How could you be so blind?_

"I don't know," she whispered. "I don't."

_What good does being good get you? Nothing. Nothing at all._

And for once, Allynia couldn't push the dark thoughts from her brain. They came over her, and swallowed her whole.

* * *

><p>Very late at night was when Allynia found her way back to the Hall. She didn't feel a thing inside.<p>

Altador had sent Jerdana home and had gone to sleep. The white Lupe was sprawled out on his bed, sleeping soundly. The dark faerie crept up to his side and place a finger on his forehead, whispering a spell, a spell that would cloak his memory of her name. He wouldn't remember it the next day.

"You were kind to me," Allynia whispered to him in his sleep. "The kindest anyone had ever been. But you couldn't love me. No one could." And with a sudden breech of emotion, the dark faerie kissed him on his forehead and left through the open window.

Coldness returning to her, she set off to place her plan in action. First step, suspend the city of Altador in time, erasing it from the map. In this way, none of the other founders could stop her.

Second step, take the title of Queen from Fyora and rule the land in darkness.

* * *

><p>As the magic blast from Fyora turned her into stone, Allynia had no regrets. Fyora didn't know what had happened to the city of Altador.<p>

The best part about it all was, the dark faerie thought as she sunk to the ruins of Maraqua, that her name had been erased. The name Allynia was no longer a problem for her. Now she was simply the Darkest Faerie. _That's all you've been all along,_ her mind said, and she agreed. There was no point in trying to be a kind dark faerie. The idea was laughable.

Betrayer. Darkest Faerie. Statue. That's all she was, and all she would ever be. Her past didn't matter anymore.

* * *

><p>Years had passed. Many, many years. The city of Altador had been released from its magical binds, Tor and Roberta had helped trap the Darkest Faerie a second time, and she was kept as a statue in Fyora's garden.<p>

There were nights when Altador couldn't sleep. There was a constant nagging in his mind, repeating in a haze. A memory of when Sleeper was still with them.

One night, as he was looking out upon his slumbering city, Jerdana found her way next to him.

"Altador, you have been like this for a very long time," she said to him. "What ails you?"

The Lupe's eyes looked down at his feet. "A memory. An old memory, from long ago."

"What about?" Jerdana asked.

"Sleep- The Betrayer," Altador corrected himself, ignoring Jerdana's wince. "She told me something a few nights before she..." His voice trailed off.

"I understand," Jerdana said quietly.

"She told me something, something I can't remember. It's as if the memory was clouded by magic," Altador explained.

"Do you know what it was?" Jerdana questioned.

"I believe it was... Her name."

There was a silence. Both of them knew that the name had been banned from history, but neither of them knew what it was. Fyora's magic truly did its job.

"If you wanted," Jerdana said tentatively, "I could try unlocking the memory. I don't know how strong her magic is, but-"

"No," Altador declined. He sighed, looked back out the window and said, "Some memories are better left hidden. I don't want to remember what she told me that day."

Jerdana nodded, and left the Lupe alone.

_Never fight who you are, or you shall be your own worst enemy, your ultimate downfall._

* * *

><p><em>Echo Note: Why do I always take forever to write things? ...Lack of motivation and a busy schedule are good reasons.<em>

_So... What did you think? Did you like the random dose of philosophy at the beginning? Was the story easy enough to follow? In a nutshell, was it any good? And if you haven't guessed already, names are a very important symbol to me. Take mine, for instance. I've said it once, and I'll say it again: There's more to the name "Echo" than you would think. So here, a name led to the undoing of a respected leader. Her name was her main source of inner strength and power, and once she gave it away, she became weakened, and that let the darkness take over her._

_Moving along... Wow. I went from having no more requests to having five. But may I ask that in the future you all tell me what rating you would prefer? I'm sorry, but when I don't get told, I feel like I have to keep it K+, just in case. I haven't been fully uncensored in any of my fics yet, and I'm starting to feel a little bummed. Then again, I personally have never understood why people are so against swearing. They're just words, meant to empower a point, but are used so often that they barely mean anything anymore... Wait, I'm rambling. Crap._

_So, I guess that's a yes to Niki's backstory. I'll publish it soon, and it will be called Camouflage. Updates will most likely be slow. Now to reply to your various challenges._

_Neon Dinosaur: Really? I honestly had no idea what I was doing when I made Clara a news reporter. Well, it worked out didn't it? And I'm very happy to do your request. I've written something along similar lines in the South Park fandom, but it was more like the aftermath of finding Fanfiction, and then there's a time paradox... Regardless, I already have some ideas._

_Kyanite Archer: Hey Lucy, you got an account! Congrats! As for your request... I'll have to look up a Taylor Swift song. (I listen to loud music with a lot of guitars, bass and drums, and a lot of music from the 90's) And I'll have to take another crack at trying to write romance. But hey, I guess it isn't called "Challenge" for nothing. _

_icaw98: A request for more Niki? Wow, thanks! My little OC is growing up... Ignore that last part. If they were in school, it would be a bit tough, since Niki is seven years older than Hanso... Unless you'd prefer me to make them the same age for the sake of the story?_

_Erroro: Yes, I've read the Hunger Games! The first one was my favorite, which is weird since I only own the second and third books. (something's odd...) Being a bit of a gore-lover, I think I'll enjoy writing it. Unless, of course, you don't want that much gore. If this is the case, please tell me right away so that I don't make it too intense. And of course I'll add Xandra. In the Hunger Games universe, she won't be characterized as an insane evil witch. That Xandra's getting a bit old._

_In a few words to you all: CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!_

_And so ends the ridiculously long author's note..._


	6. Better Left Unwritten

Better Left Unwritten

_Rating: T (contains a little swearing, but for a good reason)_

_Dedicated to Neon Dinosaur_

_Challenge: Humourous story that involves the pets finding Fanfiction _

_Warning: Swearing, references to some adult situations (but barely), complete destruction of the fourth wall... And I am not part of TNT, and I don't think I know any member of TNT. I didn't add any names, so just think of who you think would pull a stunt like this. I also don't own any of you, so if you feel like you are one of the people in the story, by all means, feel free._

"Internet?" Fyora was intrigued.

"Yes, Your Majesty," replied the odd looking faerie. "It's a marvelous invention, and everyone will love it." The strange faerie produced a laptop out of her bag and displayed it proudly to Fyora.

The strangest thing about this situation was that Fyora had no idea who this faerie was, and yet allowed her in her palace without even checking to see if the laptop contained a dangerous substance or if she had anything dangerous. Strange, but important.

Fyora was looking with fascination at the bright screen. "Please, do continue."

"Well," the faerie began, "the Internet is a marvelous invention. It can satisfy needs for knowledge, entertainment, planning and almost everything else! Just click on your favorite search engine..." She paused here and clicked on an icon that showed a pair of wings that was labeled _Internet Flyer_, "and voila! Instant access to anything and everything!"

Fyora was enchanted by the sales pitch. "How can I provide all my subjects with such a magical item?" she asked. "Is it a question of money, or-"

"No no no! Not at all!" the faerie replied before realising with some horror that she had just interrupted the queen of the Faeries. "I'm _so_ sorry Your Majesty," she amended quickly, "I didn't mean to cut you off like that, I swear!"

But Fyora smiled. "It's quite all right. But if you aren't interested in money, how could I acquire the Internet and give it to one and all?"

"All you need is a computer," the odd faerie replied. "You know what? Since I like you so much, I'll provide _everyone_ in Neopia with a computer _for free_. No charge. What do you say?"

"What could possibly go wrong?" Fyora exclaimed, and she and the odd faerie struck a deal.

* * *

><p>Outside the palace, the odd looking faerie sighed and removed her fake wings before taking out her communicator. "Did you really have to add that 'What could possibly go wrong?' thing?" she grumbled into it.<p>

"_Hey, it got the job done, didn't it?"_ the voice on the other side replied, crackling with static.

The non-faerie rolled her eyes. "The guards looked suspicious of me. There was this one point when I thought that they'd take me into custody in the Faerieland prisons."

"_Does Faerieland even have prisons?"_

"They do now," the woman replied with a smirk.

"_Okay, let's get you back to the real world now. The rest of TNT needs you back. This day will go down in history as the day we introduced Neopia to the Internet!"_

That was how the woman managed to get into Fyora's palace with one of the most dangerous artefacts known in any universe: the Internet. It was because they controlled everything.

* * *

><p>The first response to the Internet in Neopia was quite understandable. Everyone became an Internet junkie almost immediately. It was the first Internet crisis.<p>

People didn't go out anymore, they were on the Internet. People didn't buy anything at the marketplaces, they were on the Internet. People didn't bathe regularly, and by this point I'm sure you know why.

But like all addictions, some people broke theirs earlier than others. Still, eventually, everyone got their lives back, but they were also on the lookout for any Neomails they might have gotten.

Everything turned out just fine, until one day...

* * *

><p>The famed Usul pirate, Garin, was bored out of his mind. There was nothing left to do. First, he had tried getting his crew to clean up the Black Pawkeet. Then, they mended the sails. Finally, out of pure boredom, Garin ordered them all to repaint the ship where it was needed, and polish the wooden planks. But even that was finished all too quickly.<p>

There were no boats in sight, so plundering wasn't an option. Jacques was using his magical necklace to swim underwater to catch better fish, so that wasn't an option either. Garin was on the verge of taking out his maractite dagger and just throwing it at one of the masts. just for something to do.

Suddenly, he perked up. _Of course! The Internet!_

Down below the ship's deck, in his captain's quarters, Garin pulled out his laptop and switched it on.

_No new e-mails? That's a shame. Let's see... I got a friend request on Neobook? SCARBLADE? No thanks, decline... Any funny new Neotube videos? Hanso flailing his arms... Nabile's book lists... Sophie's potion-making videos... Ixis sure are popular these days..._

Suddenly, Garin had a brilliant idea. The sheer magnitude of the awesomeness of this idea would blow anyone away. It was a unique idea, one that hadn't ever been thought of before.

Garin would _look himself up with a search engine!_

Total brilliance. Unheard of. At least, such was the case in Neopia...

So, opening up a new tab and going to Poogle dot com, Neopia's leading search engine, he typed in his name...

His memorable deeds of saving New Maraqua were archived with stunning detail. Garin felt as if whomever wrote and drew this scarily accurate account of what had happened deserved a medal. _Curse of Maraqua, huh?_

Back on Poogle, he typed this phrase in, but what he saw on his search engine wasn't what he was expecting.

"What on Neopia is Fanfiction?" he wondered aloud, clicking on the link.

* * *

><p>Jacques broke the water's surface with freshly-caught fish in his arms, and shook the water droplets out of his hair and eyes. Swimming briskly back to the ship, he scaled up the chain of the anchor, with some difficulty because of the fish, but it was a lot quicker than having to get the ramp down again.<p>

He gave the fish to the cook, Gordie, and asked, "Where's Garin?"

"Hm... This is some nice fish here..." the cook said, inspecting the fish. Then, acknowledging Jacques' question, he said, "I saw him go to his room a few hours ago. He hasn't left, Fyora knows what he's doing..."

Jacques left the fish with Gordie and trudged over to Garin's room. It sounded completely silent. Jacques tapped softly on the door. "Garin? Are you okay-"

The door opened a crack, and Jacques saw his friend staring wide-eyed at a computer screen with his mouth slightly ajar.

"Jacques? What... what in the world... _is_ this?"

"What is what?" Jacques asked.

Garin pointed at the screen. "I've been reading this... I can't tell if it's funny... or terrible..."

Jacques snorted. "It can't be that bad." He took the computer away from Garin and began reading.

* * *

><p>"Hello? Yes, this is Hannah ... Jacques? Is that you? … It's been a while, how've you been? … Jacques? Jacques, calm down ... There's what? … Look what up? … What is Fanfiction? … Okay, okay, no need to scream! … You've told others? … How many? … Oh wow... And... hang on, I'll check it out. Bye Jacques."<p>

* * *

><p>In the end, every plot character that was still alivenot stone or bottled etc. decided to meet up to confront this little... problem. They decided to meet in Kiko Lake, a completely neutral territory, despite it being constantly ripped on by the Fanfiction authors. They held the meeting in one of the shops in Kiko Lake that was large enough to hold all of them, and the owner was kind enough to close business for the day so that the meeting could be held in peace.

But there was nothing remotely peaceful about it. In fact, it was leaning more toward chaotic.

"What it this... faulty archive of accounts of things that never happened in our lives?" Clara screeched.

"I don't understand this at all," Nabile mentioned, still utterly puzzled.

"We should talk about this calmly-" Tomos started to say, but he was overshadowed by all the other characters expressing their discontent and horror.

Luckily for them, Jazan was there. "SHUT UP!" he roared loud enough for the Grundos on Kreludor to hear. Everyone in the room fell silent.

As Jazan was the one to call order, he started. "Almost everything written – no, essentially everything written on that website is untrue, and we're all aware of this, yes?" Many murmurs of assent were heard.

"I've seen some stories that say that either I leave Jazan for Tomos, or that Tomos is related to me in some way," Nabile mentioned, "but neither of those things are true."

There were sounds of pity and contempt in response to this.

"There are so many stories about Xandra," Fyora added. "And though some are very good, they aren't accurate."

"Not to mention all these parodies," Altador brought up, folding his hands and resting his chin on them. "They're so strange that I fear for the people who wrote them. I'm not sure if they might be wrong in the head."

More whoops and yells of agreement were heard.

"And did you see all the stories about Brynn and me?" Hanso asked loudly. "It's creepy! I mean, some of them show my awesomeness, but then they turn us into sappy hopeless romantics! I mean, who does that?" he asked in bewilderment.

"And there are stories that are just horribly written, or they show us doing... _things,_" Brynn muttered the last word with a shudder. No one needed to ask, since they had all seen the M rated section.

"And what are all these words?" Garin wanted to know. "_Fuck, shit, ass, dick, crap, damn, douchebag_... I've never heard of them before but they're used a lot in these things."

People were getting loud once more, relating accounts of things that they read and how they were nothing like what really happened to them.

Roxton cleared his throat and stood up. The room fell silent again. "In every story I'm in, except for one or two, I'm portrayed as clueless, arrogant and hated," he said quietly. "I'm not really that annoying, am I?"

This was bad. If fanfictions were enough to lower Roxton's self-esteem, then things were very bad indeed.

"Roxton, you are annoying, and you can be a bit full of yourself, but you aren't hated," Clara consoled him. "Those stories just highlight your flaws, and we all have flaws."

"But then why are some of us treated as dung, and others like royalty?" Jacques demanded angrily.

More shouting broke out before Jazan called them all to order again. Fyora rose to speak.

"What are we going to do about this issue?" she prompted.

"Can you use your magic to shut down the website?" Gilly asked.

Fyora shook her head. "No, the Internet is apparently more powerful than we thought. It's even related to our own existence." A shocked silence fell on the room.

"How about we flame them with the review option?" Sophie suggested with a glint in her eyes. "We tell them what complete rubbish their writing is, and maybe they'll stop."

"That's a good idea!" Hannah agreed. Several others were with them.

But oddly enough, Jordie decided to be the voice of reason. "But if we flame them, aren't we just as bad? And what if they decide to keep writing even worse stuff because we were mean to them?"

He had a point, and the room fell silent again. All the energy created by Sophie's suggestion had evaporated into thin air.

"What can we do?" Jeran murmured thoughtfully. No one had an answer.

"Why do they write us all wrong?" Linae wondered. Once again, no one had an answer.

Once again, Jazan screamed into the heavens. "WILL SOMEONE EXPLAIN?"

"All you had to do was ask!" a voice exclaimed. Several others shouted variants of this same phrase.

Everyone looked around, but they couldn't find the source of the voices. "This is creepy," Jordie whimpered.

Suddenly, a flash of blinding light appeared in one of the corners of the room. Several plot characters sprinted away as the light took up more and more space, before disappearing very suddenly.

Where the light was stood many, many strange creatures. The Neopets looked on, fascinated by these beings. They had the appearance of faeries, but with so many different shapes, sizes, colours and ages. They stood in a group, a few of them shoving others out of their way as they tried to get a better look at the plot characters. The vast, vast majority of them were female.

Probably the most intriguing aspect of these faeries was the fact that none of them had wings.

Brynn drew out her sword. "Who are you?" she demanded to know.

"It's Brynn!" one of them squealed. A few others followed suit, while others looked at these beings in annoyance. Still others remained impassive.

"You wanted an explanation, right?" one of them said. "Well, here we are. Ask away."

"_You_ wrote those things about us?" Kanrik asked sceptically.

Another being, ignoring the excited squeaks of "Kanrik!" in the background, answered, "Yes. We live in another dimension, on this planet called Earth. We read about some events in your lives, and we decide to write spin-offs, or pastiches, or parodies for our own amusement or for others. We are the authors."

"That sounds cool," one of the so-called 'authors' said. "The Authors. It should be like a club or something."

"Shut up," another author snapped. A small fight broke out between the two.

The plot characters, meanwhile, were still getting over the shock of seeing all these apparently higher-evolved beings that had the ability to see into their lives and modify them as they pleased.

"Will you two shut the fuck up?" one author roared at the fighting ones.

"Please! Stop swearing!" another complained.

"I'll swear if I damn well want to! Free speech!"

"Didn't we agree to make this a K+ rated trip?" another pointed out.

"I didn't agree to that!" yet another butted in. A few others agreed and another fight broke out with words like _piss off, fuck you_ and _you bitch_ floated across the room.

The Neopians stared in awe and some horror at the perpetrators of their stress-by-fanfiction. It wasn't expected for them to see several strong, violent and moody people (mainly females) appear in front of them and start fighting instead of doing what they actually set out to do.

It was like some crappy reality show mixed in with a terrible sitcom.

Jazan, having accepted his role as the person who called everyone to order, called everyone to order. After a few more fangirl squeals, the authors silenced themselves.

"Why do you write these things?" Jazan asked.

"We're bored and there's nothing better to do," one answered.

"But they're not true!" Jazan stressed.

"Duh, that's why it's fan_fiction_, geddit?" another returned.

"But so many of them are so... wrong," Hanso interjected.

"Hanso!" many of them squealed.

"Trust me, they could be a lot worse," an author muttered.

"Yeah, no one's done a genderbend fic yet!"

"Or created a shitty Mary-Sue. Or have they and I just don't know about it?"

"Or a trollfic."

"Or a badfic."

"Trollfics and badfics are the same thing."

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Geez, you're all so childish!"

"ENOUGH!" Jazan yelled. His throat was getting sore.

"Sorry," many of the authors apoligised.

"But yeah, they can get much, much worse," the original replied continued. "You're actually lucky that your archive's worst things are swearing and violence."

"What about the lemon fic?"

"Oh right..."

None of the characters had any idea what lemons had to do with any of this. They didn't remember a story about lemons, but it sounded awful to them. As newbies to fanfiction, they didn't know the terminology, thus that the authors were talking about smut and not legitimate lemons.

"Look, can you just stop?" Garin asked. "It's not pleasant to read them, or to know that it's there."

"Don't like, don't read," one author said obstinately.

"But-" Jacques started to say.

"Why don't you write fanfiction of your own?" one author suggested.

"Yeah, like on your own books, like _The Mystery of the Kougra Paw_!" another cried excitedly. "Fanfiction is so much fun, and you make a lot of great friends! It lets you be creative, and it gives you closure on books with cliffhanger endings!"

"Cliffhangers are annoying," Clara admitted.

"There you go!" another supplied. "Start your own archive, and you'll forget about your own! Or you can take ideas and suggestions from our stories about you."

"I think we'll pass," Kanrik muttered.

"It'll be great for you, really! Fyora, can you set it up? Please?" one begged. This started an onslaught of pleases from the majority of the authors.

Everyone looked expectantly at Fyora, who still seemed uncertain.

"It doesn't sound too bad," Isca said from the basin of water which held her and Caylis.

"I've heard worse," Armin agreed.

"Let's try it!" said an enthusiastic Hanso.

Fyora looked at all the assent from both Neopets and Authors. She gripped her staff, smiled and nodded. "Consider it done."

"Awesome!" one of the authors cheered, and the others began giving each other hi-fives and hugs while whooping in joy.

"We should get going," one said, motioning to a clock on a nearby wall. The others looked and exclaimed in surprise.

"Goodbye!" they chorused, and they disappeared in a similar flash of light.

"I hope I never meet someone as crazy as them again," Tomos declared.

In the end, a second Internet-related crisis happened in Neopia. This time, it was because of Neo-Fanfiction.

* * *

><p><em>Echo Note: This is incredibly late, not to mention one of my shortest works *shame* and I apologise. I stand by my usual excuses of lack of motivation and time, but I also have a new one. It also has to do with my lack of writingreviewing/PMing._

_One of my family members, one that I am very close to, is dying. This isn't really too much of a shock to me, since I knew that this family member had an illness that doesn't have a cure, but only recently has it turned to the point of death. This family member will die very soon, and I'm still upset and depressed about it._

_So, if I owe you a review or a PM, I'm just a bit angsty at the moment and I'll get around to it eventually. I also have a lot of stories to write, including some that I'm in the process of starting and that I will publish. I'm putting too much on myself, but at the moment I don't care and I'm getting randomly inspired too much. I'm still trying to write, but it's difficult for me right now._

_Also, if I can make a request, please don't say things like "I'm sooo sorry!" in your review. I find it generally annoying and it can get me even more depressed._

_If my quality of writing dips, it's because of the reason stated above. Nevertheless, I thank you for your patience with me and my awful updating/reviewing/PMing._

_Also, the Altador Cup is here, so I'm playing that, too. Go Mystery Island! And good luck to all of you as well._


	7. Stolen

Stolen

_Rating: K+_

_Dedicated to Kyanite Archer._

_Challenge: Taylor Swift song based fic, Hannah/Garin and a Garin/Hannah/Kanrik love triangle, IC, involves Jacques and possibly Hanso._

_Warning: Me attempting romance again, me having to look up Taylor Swift songs, angst... I guess I chose Teardrops on my Guitar, but I feel like you may have wanted a bit more emphasis on the Hannah/Garin instead of the unrequited Hannah/Kanrik... Could be wrong... Ah well. It's kinda both._

_Even though Hannah/Kanrik is practically canon (during the Battle of the Obelisk Hannah came with Kanrik and was bossing him around – Kanrik wouldn't let just anyone do that.)_

_Anyway, here it is._

Hannah, as great of a storyteller as she was, simply couldn't put into words how she ended up with Garin. When people asked, her smile would turn into a thoughtful look, and her response would be something along the lines of, "We stole each other."

People never knew exactly how to interpret that, but Hannah was satisfied with that response. They stole each other. Simple as that.

Hannah could still easily remember her late teen years where she made it through the Pirate Caves and saved Terror Mountain. She remembered going to Kreludor for her twentieth birthday and having a little adventure there too. It wasn't that long ago.

Garin could tell her in vivid detail about his time saving New Maraqua. The way he told it was just so engrossing and easy to understand that Hannah actually had difficulty believing that she wasn't there with him the entire time. She mentioned this to him once, a little sheepishly, simply to compliment him. She would never forget his reaction: a laugh, an arm across her back and a hand on her shoulder, and him saying that he wished that she could have been there with him all right. It would have been so much more fun and interesting. She bonked him lightly on the head with a small laugh. He shoved her back, smiling.

They both fought and lied and stole. They both craved adventures instead of luxury and the comforts that a simple lifestyle held. They just worked well together, they knew the other's mind and took what they saw, all faults and oddities and desire for freedom. Neither really wanted to be tied down by the other, but they also treasured the little times they spent together. Garin promised that one day he would take her on his ship and they could go off on some crazy adventure together. Hannah agreed on the condition that the sea travel didn't last too long.

They didn't need much, but what they gave each other was more than they could ever ask for. Simply put, they stole each other. They took what wasn't theirs and made it theirs, like they did with everything else. Garin stole Hannah, an adventurer who was determined to live each and every day to the fullest. Hannah stole Garin, a pirate who scoffed at the royal life and worked hard to make himself the most feared captain in all the five seas. She was his, he was hers, they belonged to each other, and they were still free.

They couldn't really tell you the story of how they met, or how they had gotten together, or why they were in love, or anything really. It just was what it was. It didn't matter when or where or how they met, why they were together or how they knew they were in love; those were all trivial details.

If one were to ask Jacques, Garin's best friend and first mate on the Black Pawkeet, he would just shrug and say something about crazy Usuls and random timing.

As vague as both statements were, the one from Hannah and the one from Jacques, they summed everything up perfectly. There was no real basis, there just was what there was. And for them, it was perfect.

* * *

><p>Kanrik watched her silently. He couldn't place it, but Hannah still had something about her that entranced him. She was still a free spirit, living above and beyond what was expected of her, and that's why she was a legend. A hero.<p>

Hannah liked visiting her old friend, sometimes giving him a small jab by reminding him of his betrayal, albeit in a joking way. He always laughed with her, even though the reminder sent a jolt of pain down to his core.

He still hadn't forgiven himself for that. But Hannah had, so it was okay.

Right?

But he had nothing to say to her now. Being the leader of the Thieves Guild wasn't exactly as it seemed. It was more businesslike than people would expect, and the tales of heists often got repetitive, even if the acts never got dull. Kanrik began to think that he was boring Hannah with his stories, so whenever she asked him about his life, he would answer with an airy, "Oh, nothing interesting. What about you?"

Hannah's face would light up, and she would start to talk about _Garin._ Garin this, Garin that. Garin always had something new in his life, in her life. Hannah's way of talking would change when she told stories of Garin's successes. Kanrik could only assume that she was taking the words right from his mouth, but the way these stories were told were simply breathtaking.

Kanrik was there, underwater with Hannah and with Garin and Jacques and Isca and Caylis. It was incredible, and it always left him with a sour feeling.

He didn't let this show, though, and he continued to listen to his first true friend change topics to whatever she felt was important in her life since the last time she saw him.

He didn't hate Hannah for finding someone else. He didn't even hate Garin. He had no hate left to give. All he had was an emptiness that he never let show, and a smile to mask it perfectly.

Visits from Hannah were cherished and dreaded. Along with his work, they were all he really had.

* * *

><p>Jacques saw this every single time Kanrik was in the same place with Hannah and Garin. Every time the three of them met up it was painful to watch, but only if you were as observant as Jacques was. Garin and Hannah didn't act particularly like a couple, but they sat down right next to each other and laughed at the other and talked while Kanrik stayed silent for the most part.<p>

The two Usuls were very happy together. Anyone could see that. But it took a lot to see past Kanrik's mask. Jacques already had had to deal with depressed pirates and he knew the signs. He noticed the deadened eyes and the lack of expression. But what gave it away was the reactions. The ones that seemed cheerful. The pretend spark in the eyes and the sudden smile.

Kanrik had all of these. Garin and Hannah never noticed.

So after the three had finished talking, Jacques approached the Gelert as he was about to leave.

"I'm sorry. It can't be easy."

Kanrik, to his credit, didn't pretend not to understand. "It isn't."

"You can't do anything about it. I can't do anything about it either. But remember, Kanrik, Hannah is not the only good thing in this world."

* * *

><p>Goodbyes were never easy for either of them, even though they tried to act as if it wasn't a big deal. But Garin had to take off with his ship, and Hannah wasn't one for sea travel. Too many days just floating there with nothing happening didn't appeal to her at all.<p>

So they said goodbye, smiling somewhat sadly and telling each other to have fun. The words "Be safe" weren't in their vocabulary.

In a show of affection that rarely happened during goodbyes, Garin pulled Hannah close and hugged her tightly. She returned the embrace, resting her chin on his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a while before letting go, smiling brightly at each other. They promised to write before Garin went aboard and Hannah went back into town, wondering about what her next adventure would bring.

* * *

><p>Kanrik knew that Jacques was right, but Hannah was the only good thing he could see. In a life where his existence had always depended on taking good things, the money and the jewels and the artefacts, Hannah was another thing entirely. The first good thing he had found that wasn't a <em>thing<em> at all. A person. A friend. And so much more.

The first person he felt genuine care for. Hannah. Hannah the Brave. The one who had reached down into the deep void of darkness he was drowning himself in and helped him out of it. In a way, he felt he owed her everything. Another part of him thought that the idea was ridiculous.

So here he was, back at the headquarters, trying to find solace in his work. As the door slammed in and a blue Ixi sauntered inside his office, he knew that this wouldn't be the case.

"Oh Kaaaaanrik!" Hanso singsonged, obviously in a good mood.

"What do you want?"

The thief held up both hands in a defensive gesture. "Hey, no need to be so grouchy. I just have some information that you might be interested in."

"Of course you do. What is it _this_ time?" The last time Hanso had given him 'important information', half of the Thieves Guild had ended up trapped in Usukicon. Kanrik was sure that he still had confetti in his cloak somewhere.

"You know all those earthquakes in Tyrannia? Something big's shown up. People are digging at this dig site over there. I, naturally, being the Master Thief I am, decided that it would be a good idea to scope out the place for any artefact retrieval or maybe to loot a thing or two-"

"Is this going anywhere?"

"Calm down, calm down. Sheesh. There's something big there. Something big and shiny and pointy." The thief grinned. "Experts are calling it the Obelisk."

Kanrik froze up. The Obelisk? _The_ Obelisk? The one from the legends when he was a child? If the thieves were to claim it, the power inside would...

Kanrik let a slow grin overtake his features. Perhaps he would find solace in his work after all...

* * *

><p>The Obelisk. Hannah knew that was her next adventure. Immediately after receiving the news, she set off for Tyrannia, finding a few factions already among them. Tensions were high.<p>

She saw a purple cloak and smiled. She tapped him on the shoulder.

The giant blue Gelert turned and glared, but his eyes widened when he saw who it was. "Hannah?"

She smirked. "Need a little help?"

* * *

><p>They failed. The Sway claimed the power of the Obelisk, but the Oracle foresaw more battles to come. Both Hannah and Kanrik were encouraged by this.<p>

Kanrik especially. If Hannah were to remain, he was sure he could conquer anything.

* * *

><p>They won the second skirmish. Over celebrations and power collections, Hannah decided that it was time for her to go. They had spent a long time fighting, and though it was fun, it got tedious. She had another story to add to her archive, and she saw one of her old friends again, but Garin had sent her a note telling her that he'd be back at Krawk Island in a few days.<p>

Hannah said goodbye to Kanrik, thanking him for a fun time and that she was planning on returning at some point if the battles were still going on. Kanrik nodded and said goodbye, understanding that Hannah got bored easily from the same things. He wasn't like Garin. He didn't have thousands of different stories to tell.

But he hugged her goodbye. Hannah returned the hug, a bit confused but accepting. She still didn't understand. She was stolen by Garin, and Kanrik could do nothing to change this.

* * *

><p>At a pier in Krawk Island, a grand pirate ship sailed forth and stopped at the docks. As soon as the anchor was let loose and the rigging undone and the sails brought down, the captain jumped down and found the person he was looking for. They hugged each other, laughing in greeting.<p>

As Hannah stepped back from Garin, she said, "Boy do I have a story for you."

Garin grinned and put an arm around her, leading her to the Golden Dubloon with his attained money jingling in his pocket. "Same here. But I'll listen to yours first."

They smiled at each other, happy to be together again. They had stolen each other, and life couldn't be any better.

* * *

><p><em>Echo Note: Short, and probably not very good. Sorry.<em>

_So this is about... one year later. Sorry about that too._

_What's more, I'm struggling with what I should do with JASA. I don't like leaving things unfinished, but at the same time, I cringe every time I read some of it. Should I just dump it entirely? Re-write it in a new style? I'll probably make a poll for this._

_Hopefully my next update for this won't take another year... I'm still going with this!_

_And as for my Hunger Games themed request, I might make that another story entirely. I don't think I could fit it in one chapter... I'll still credit you, Erroro, for the idea._

_Requests are still open, reviews still appreciated beyond belief._


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